Once hawkish, Olmert pushes peace

Ten years ago, when Ehud Olmert was a right-wing mayor of Jerusalem, he built his political persona around his frequent vows to keep the city united as Israel's capital forever.

Today, as prime minister, Mr. Olmert is making moves that suggest he could be the first Israeli leader to attempt to get his people to swallow the prospect of dividing Jerusalem.

As US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrapped up a visit to the region Tuesday ahead of a US-sponsored international summit in Annapolis, Md., Olmert showed a readiness to talk business with the Palestinians on a land-for-peace proposal. Such a deal would likely transfer Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem to Palestinian control and would include Israel annexing large settlement blocs in the West Bank.

"There is a clear campaign of Olmert putting himself out there and saying we're going to push for [an agreement with the Palestinians]," says Martin Indyk, a former ambassador to Israel and the director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

For some, Olmert's palpable tilt toward peace shows an evolution in his outlook on the Middle East conflict, a shift from his hawkish days as a young ultranationalist member of Knesset in the right-wing Likud Party to a pragmatic statesman-in-the-making. For others, Olmert's rightist past and the multitude of problems he's accumulated in his time since being elected prime minister – from several police investigations into his personal business dealings to a scathing government commission report on his performance in leading Israel into a devastating war last year – make him a suspicious candidate for piloting the country to peace.

"He used to belong to the right wing of the right wing, and as he grew in power he moderated," says Reuven Hazan, a specialist in politics and public opinion at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "Either he's had a real conversion over time or he's a true political opportunist, and when he understood that the country was moving away from the hard right, he moved with it."

Indeed, Olmert – whose political life was hanging by a thread only months ago – seems to have accurately read public opinion. This week, the Israeli media praised a major speech he gave Sunday night at the Saban Forum in Jerusalem, in which he promised to enter into "vigorous, ongoing, and continuing negotiations" with the Palestinians after the Annapolis conference.

"If we and the Palestinians act with determination, there is a chance that we can achieve real accomplishments perhaps even before the end of President Bush's term in office," he said. He added: "This is a good moment. I am excited by the chance to contribute to our chances. I know all the excuses and arguments why not, but I believe – from the bottom of my heart – that the time has come."

Page: 1 | 2