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Ehud Olmert: Israel Needs Peace Now

Time for Netanyahu to get serious, says former PM

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 22, 2011 1:41 PM CDT

(Newser) – Israel and Palestine seem on a collision course for a diplomatic confrontation at the UN, but “things could and should have been different,” writes former PM Ehud Olmert in an op-ed for the New York Times. “The parameters of a peace deal are well known,” he says, outlining the two-state solution he championed in office. Benjamin Netanyahu must put those terms back on the table. "We Israelis simply do not have the luxury of spending more time postponing a solution."

With the Arab Spring threatening to destabilize the region, peace will provide stability and help Israel improve relations with its neighbors. “Israel will not always find itself sitting across the table from Palestinian leaders like Mr. Abbas and the prime minister, Salam Fayyad, who object to terrorism and want peace,” Olmert reasons. “Now is the time. There will be no better one."

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert arrives for the beginning of his corruption trail at the Jerusalem District Court on May 31, 2011 in Jerusalem, Israel. (Getty Images)

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Ehud Olmert: Israel Needs Peace Now

Time for Netanyahu to get serious, says former PM

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Ehud Olmert • Mahmoud Abbas • Israel and Palestinians • Palestinian statehood • two-state solution

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