Ehud Olmert & Nasser Al-Kidwa Reflect on Peace, Leadership, and Lessons Learned
JUDJ-Prepared Summary from September 30, 2025 | Prospects for Israeli-Palestinian Peace: Lessons from Oslo & Trump’s 20-Point Plan. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the speakers.
In a recent discussion organized by the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and the UC Berkeley Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law & Israel Studies, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Kidwa revisited the legacy of the Oslo Accords and shared their personal journeys toward advocating for a two-state solution. Speaking on the 30th anniversary of the 1995 Oslo II agreement, both men reflected on why past efforts failed, how their perspectives evolved over decades of public service, and why new leadership is needed on both sides to move forward.
Oslo’s Promise—and Its Shortcomings
Al-Kidwa began by acknowledging Oslo’s significance as a political milestone but critiqued its design flaws. Chief among them, he said, was the absence of a settlement freeze—a glaring omission that undermined trust from the start. Equally problematic, the agreement never clearly spelled out the end goal of Palestinian independence, leaving the destination open to interpretation. Combined with missteps on both sides and violent spoilers such as Hamas suicide bombings, the accords ultimately faltered. Still, both leaders insisted Oslo remains a vital reference point and a source of lessons for future negotiations.
Journeys Toward Partnership
Olmert recounted his political transformation. Initially aligned with the Israeli right, his tenure as Mayor of Jerusalem in the 1990s forced him to confront daily realities in East Jerusalem: stark inequality, neglected infrastructure, and a divided city. Seeing Palestinian residents living decades behind their Israeli neighbors shifted his view. “The only possible solution,” he concluded, was for Palestinians to exercise their right to self-determination through an independent state.
For Al-Kidwa, credibility came from being a “political warrior” rather than a dreamer. His collaboration with Olmert grew from shared pragmatism: both understood that durable agreements rest not on ideals alone but on practical steps that advance the interests of their peoples. As he put it, “Neither of us is a dreamer; both of us are warriors.”
Defining a Practical Two-State Framework
Olmert revisited the peace proposal he presented in 2008, which remains a blueprint for many of today’s discussions. His plan envisioned Israel annexing about 4–4.4% of the West Bank—territories where roughly 82% of Israeli settlers live—while compensating Palestinians with equivalent land swaps. The remaining 18% of settlers could either relocate to annexed blocs or Israel itself, or remain as residents under Palestinian jurisdiction while retaining Israeli citizenship. Al-Kidwa stressed that the details of borders, economics, and movement must be subject to negotiation, with options like eventual confederation also on the table.
Refugees and Recognition
The speakers also addressed the sensitive refugee question. Al-Kidwa argued that Palestinians living within a future state should become full citizens, while acknowledging that mass return to Israel is neither realistic nor desirable. Individual solutions, he said, must be negotiated with respect and dignity. Olmert echoed this, pointing to the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 (reaffirmed in 2007) as the framework for addressing refugee claims, including symbolic gestures that acknowledge suffering on both sides.
The Leadership Test
Both Olmert and Al-Kidwa emphasized that new leadership is essential. For Olmert, true statesmanship sometimes means doing the opposite of one’s lifelong platform, as Menachem Begin did when he agreed to withdraw from Sinai in 1978. He argued that current Israeli and Palestinian leaders lack this courage, making political renewal urgent. Al-Kidwa agreed: without generational change in both governments, he warned, progress will remain elusive.
Looking Forward
Despite decades of failed talks, both leaders projected optimism. They see Palestinians and Israelis as natural future partners, bound by geography, history, and the potential for cooperation once bitterness fades. Yet they cautioned that the window is narrowing: settlement expansion and entrenched mistrust threaten to foreclose the two-state option if momentum is not seized soon.
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