A biography for Ehud Olmerthasn’t been written yet.
“When you fight for the impossible, sometimes you lose everything.”
“From the end of 2006 until the end of 2008 I think I met with Abu Mazen more often than any Israeli leader has ever met any Arab leader. I met him more than 35 times. They were intense, serious negotiations.”
“Many Palestinians have been living for decades in camps, disconnected from the environment in which they grew up, wallowing in poverty, in neglect, alienation, bitterness, and a deep, unrelenting sense of humiliation.”
“I'm not in power, but my ideas are in power. And my ideas will prevail.”
“I think the attempt to draw a comparison between Iran and Syria is false, misleading and dangerous.”
“The days that Israel was separated from Europe are gone.”
“What do you prefer? A prime minister obsessed with being popular, or a prime minister who does the job?”
“I know the war in Iraq is controversial in the States, but for us in the Middle East it has made a great and significant impact.”
“It's a problem sometimes when you speak to journalists. They quote you, and then they read what they wrote, and then they even explain it. It's dangerous.”
“Maaele Adumim is part of Israel. Gush Etzion is part of Israel.”
“The United States provides Israel with crucial security and economic aid and invaluable political backing in the international arena.”
“Everything that can strengthen Abu Mazen is favourable.”
“When the President of Iran talks about removing Israel from the face of the Earth and is building nuclear bombs with a range of 3000km, you have to be worried.”
“A prime minister has to keep a certain balance when dealing with sensitive issues.”
“As mayor of Jerusalem, I wanted the government to invest the necessary funds in order to unite the city in an effective manner with full rights for the Palestinians living in Jerusalem, so the world would say, 'Okay, it can work.'”
“I don't expect to be coddled, but I'm also a human being.”
“When I addressed international forums as prime minister, the Israeli people expected me to present bold political initiatives that would bring peace - not arguments outlining why achieving peace now is not possible.”
“There were certain people who were out to get me. I know who those people were. They exist, believe me. They know that I know. They spent millions of dollars in order to try to get rid of me. I'm happy they lost most of their money.”
“Every prime minister ... has the responsibility to provide security for his people.”
“Historic scores cannot be settled, and scars cannot be obliterated.”