Ehud Olmert Quotes (69 Quotes)

I'm saying those things here and now out of a belief in the State of Israel's immense power and the immeasurable courage of its soldiers, military leaders, and security forces to hit any enemy and defeat any terrorist. Out of this sense of strength we must act with all our power in order to create hope for a different life for our young generation and that of our Palestinian neighbors.

He's fighting for his life, and we are fighting for his way. We are carrying his flag, the one he carried in his political life, and we'll carry it forward to victory

We're under pressure because we haven't reached the point where we can form a stable government yet.

It's right that in certain polls there has been a little downturn, but I am sure that no one doubts who will form the next government.

If our expected partners in the negotiations in the framework of the road map do not uphold their commitments, we will preserve the Israeli interest in every way.

We are happy to announce that immediately after the president empowers me to put together a government we will start coalition talks ... to establish as quickly a possible a government with the Labor Party as the senior partner.

Today's reality day compels us to separate from the Palestinian population in the territories (the West Bank) and draw up the new borders of the state of Israel.

I hope to form a government, which will have the broadest possible support, as quickly as possible.

We are closely monitoring developments in these difficult hours and our eyes, and those of the entire world, are directed toward the hospital in the hope of seeing the prime minister, who has emerged from so many previous battles, emerging from this battle as well and taking his seat here.

Otherwise there can be no progress with an administration in which there are terrorist organizations as members.

The state of Israel will not negotiate with a Palestinian administration if even part of it is an armed terrorist organization calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.

I think there is an opportunity now that never existed before. This is due to a combination of public opinion in Israel, my commitment and the understanding and hopefully future support of President George W. Bush.

The president of Iran, with all of his statements, is a heinous anti-Semitic phenomenon. He is an Israel-hater. We must prevent Iran from reaching a technological know-how with everything that entails, and the international community has the tools to deal with this.

While we respect Abbas and are prepared to deal with him in the same manner we have done, we won't be able to continue the same pattern of relations if he chooses to surrender to the existence of a terrorist organization rather than act to disarm it.

We are talking about a desire to define the permanent borders of Israel in the framework of an agreement (with the Palestinians) based on the road map.

We are in a war, a very brutal war that has been waged against every Jewish person in the heart of Jerusalem, ... My city is bleeding, day in and day out, with tens of civilians killed.

Israel will not compromise with terrorism and will continue to fight it with full force. However, there is no intention of harming the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian population.

Today is the birthday of prime minister Ariel Sharon. We all pray for his health and wish for his speedy recovery.

Our eyes and those of the entire world are on the hospital in the hope that the prime minister, who went through so many battles in the past, will emerge from this battle safe and sound. This is a difficult situation that we are not accustomed to. ... This is a difficult hour, and we will get through it, together.

We clarified that without a clear abandonment of the path of terror, a recognition of Israel's right to exist in security and peace ... Israel won't have any contact with the Palestinians.

We will definitely change the route either east or west in accordance to internal Israeli agreement. The fence that will be built... will be the border line that will separate Israel and the Palestinians. Israelis will not live beyond the fence.

The main challenge is still ahead for him, ... Will he fight against the terrorists Will he try to stop this bloody, violent war against the state of Israel This is the main question. This is what interests us.

Israel cannot allow in any way or at any stage someone who has such hostile intentions against us to obtain weapons that could threaten our existence.

This is a sign of absolute weakness by the prime minister of Israel ... if he will technically agree to it, the people of Israel will never approve it,

The fence will continue being built and we will go on taking care of the security of Israel's citizens,

And there was a soldier with a gun that just caught him in time to kill him before he was continuing his shooting.

I hope today's decision will only be a short-term one. We are busy forming the next government.

Drawing the final borders is our obligation as leaders and as a society.

If after a reasonable time passes it becomes clear that the PA (Palestinian Authority) is not willing to accept these principles, we will need to begin to act.

We will use an iron fist against any attempt to renew terrorist action. We will use drastic measures on all the roads, in all sensitive areas.

We believe that some maybe are still under the wreckage here, and the special units of the army are starting to work in order to move the wreckage in order to rescue all those that are still left here,

Palestinian militants started this terror, they have made the use of human bombs, those suicidal attackers, as frequent as possible, ... They've been doing it 300 times already. ... We expect it to happen every day.

I very much hope that today's decision will be in effect for just a short period. I hope ... we will be able to bring a new government to parliament for approval as quickly as possible.

We cannot continue to control areas of the territories where most of the Palestinians live.

It's no secret that we won't invest in coming years the same sums we once invested in construction and infrastructure development in areas over the Green Line.

simply don't trust the Palestinians.

I'm not expressing any ultimatum. If we reach the conclusion that the Palestinians are not prepared to meet the requirements that lead to negotiations, we will then move forward without getting a negotiating process. We are ready to change. We are not prepared to wait forever.

In order to ensure the existence of a Jewish national home, we will not be able to continue ruling over the territories in which the majority of the Palestinian population lives.

The Oslo agreement had its weaknesses but it was also justified. There is no doubt that it forced Israeli society to self-examination that led to the conclusion that Israel must return to its correct borders,

It must be made very clear, we are not going to transfer funds which could finance terrorist attacks against our civilians.

The pullout from Gaza is in no way an attempt to trade off Gaza for the West Bank.

We can never totally return to the indefensible pre-1967 borders, ... We simply cannot afford to make Israel 9 miles wide again at its center. We can't allow the Palestinians to be a couple miles from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport in the age of shoulder-fire missiles with the capacity to shoot down jumbo jets. But that doesn't mean we must remain in every corner of the West Bank or in Gaza, where fewer than 10,000 Jews, living next to 1.3 million Palestinians, have been protected by twice as many soldiers.

History has proven that when the people of Israel unite under a serious and responsible leadership, we know how to overcome all challenges and overcome all obstacles.

We are with the mainstream and responsible elements who want to take Israel where it should be, which shows a mix of political responsibility, the willingness to make concessions in order to achieve our ends, as well as real determination in the fight against terror.

There will be no reverse in this decision, ... The Orient House has become a symbol of provocations, of almost endless activities against the law of Israel and against the status of Israel in the united city of Jerusalem and as such it had to be closed.

In the near future, I will set the permanent borders of the state of Israel. I prefer to do this by agreement with our neighbors.

We must create a clear boundary as soon as possible, which will reflect the demographic reality on the ground. Israel will maintain control over the security zones, the Jewish settlement blocs, and those places which have supreme national importance to the Jewish people.

What we have is a bad atmosphere building up all over the Middle East, we have a new climate in which lots of dark clouds are gathering,

Today, Israeli democracy has spoken its piece, in a loud and clear voice.

One should judge the deeds and not the declarations. We have to wait and see if the new Cabinet will, in fact, be sworn in and how it will act, taking into account Arafat's staunch resistance to it and his capacity to undermine any process of reform.