Ehud Olmert, addressing the Israel Policy Forum on June 9, 2005 (two months before the Gaza disengagement):
It will bring more security, greater safety, much more prosperity, and a lot of joy for all the people that live in the Middle East.
(Applause)
And we all desperately need it. We are tired of fighting, we are tired of being courageous, we are tired of winning, we are tired of defeating our enemies, we want that we will be able to live in an entirely different environment of relations with our enemies.
Ehud Olmert, addressing the Knesset on October 8, 2007 (in anticipation of the Annapolis conference next month):
The peace process is a process that demands mutual tolerance, a willingness to listen to all sectors of society, an openness to understand the fears and suspicions that are so embedded in our common experiences – but also determination to accept brave unavoidable decisions . . . .
So too will the other side have to act. . . . They too will have to confront the need to relinquish the fulfillment of some of their dreams in order to create with us a reality, that might not be ideal, and might not be perfect, but one that will give us all stability, security, happiness and peace.
It’s just like old times: the peace of the brave.
