In an op-ed in The Independent entitled, “Sorry Donald Trump, But That’s Not What I Call a Peace Deal,” former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, while giving deserved credit to U.S. President Donald Trump for “forcing” Bibi Netanyahu to the negotiating table, and getting a ceasefire and resumption of desperately needed humanitarian aid flowing into Gaza, warns that the “carnival-like” session of the Israeli Knesset, with 33 standing ovations for Trump, will be remembered as nothing more than “theatrical burlesque” if a Palestinian state is not also made a reality.
His background report on the negotiations is confirmed by Gershon Baskin’s inside account as follows: “Had Donald Trump not decided to force Netanyahu to apologize to the prime minister of Qatar, dictated a humiliating text to him, and placed a Qatari representative next to him who checked every word Netanyahu said, we might still be in the midst of a war.”
Olmert writes: “Trump deserves appreciation and gratitude from Israel, especially for forcing its prime minister to do what he had refused to do for over a year. This agreement was possible a year ago—but only when Trump decided did it become reality.”
He continues: “These days, both sides are still captive to the blood-soaked trauma of the last two years and the painful memories of decades of bloody conflict. However, there is no alternative but a peace settlement based on two states that will recognize the mutual rights of both sides.
