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This programme contains scenes
which some viewers may find upsetting

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I was home, with my family.

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Because I'm religious,
I didn't open the TV,

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I didn't open the radio, nothing.

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I went to the synagogue around 8.30.

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SHOUTING

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<font color="

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"Come fast,
we have to do something."

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It took me hours to understand
what's going on.

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Our people, our civilians
that we have a contract with them,

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we failed.

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<font color="

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The 7th of October attacks and the
devastating war they sparked in Gaza

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have brutally reopened scars
from decades of conflict.

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The Bible says
there is a time for peace

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and a time for war.

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<font color="

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Now, with lasting peace
as elusive as ever,

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we explore the roots of the crisis.

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Those at the highest level tell
the story of how, time and again,

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they tried - and failed -
to end the deepening conflict,

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<font color="
reach breaking point.

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What Netanyahu did to
Vice President Biden was outrageous.

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It's like the biggest slap
in the face.

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I think American Secretaries
of State are like moths to a flame

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<font color="

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We'll see how two decades
of failed negotiations

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helped Hamas' power grew

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and we'll hear from their leader

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who was killed a month
after our interview.

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In this first episode, a
<font color="

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opens the door
for Hamas to seize control.

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For Sharon, this is a matter of
political life and death for him.

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The gut reaction was to view this
as a trap, as a conspiracy.

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And Palestinian, Israeli
<font color="

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grapple with the fallout.

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President Bush was looking
for an enormous achievement.

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Now, what is sexier
for an American leader

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than a peace agreement
in the Middle East?

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SHOUTING

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<font color="

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The deadly conflict
between Hamas and Israel

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began long before
the 7th of October.

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SIREN WAILS

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One of Hamas'
most devastating attacks

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came in the summer of 2003,

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<font color="
on a bus in Jerusalem

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which killed 23 and left
over 100 more seriously injured.

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It was part of the Intifada,

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the Palestinian uprising
against Israeli occupation.

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The Palestinian President,
<font color="

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had long been accused of turning
a blind eye to such attacks.

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We had arrested many of those
who are behind these activities.

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But no-one can give 100% results.

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Arafat, a former guerrilla fighter,

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was an icon of
<font color="

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His government,
the Palestinian Authority,

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was nominally in charge of
the West Bank and Gaza Strip

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despite Israel's
military occupation.

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Its goal was a Palestinian state,

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recognised by
<font color="

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Israel's leader, Ariel Sharon,

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had ceased all diplomatic contact
with Arafat and his government.

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He was about to take a decision that
would shape the course of events

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in Gaza and beyond
for years to come.

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<font color="
Israel's presence in the Gaza Strip.

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But it would be unthinkable for him
to do so without the blessing

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of Israel's biggest financial
and military backer.

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He dispatched his Chief of Staff
<font color="

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For us, for the Sharon government,

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the peace process
seems to be frozen.

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But the whole world pressured us,

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"These are the way to agree to a
foundation of a Palestinian state."

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And in this mood,
<font color="

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I met with Condi Rice.

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Dubi Weissglas was a kind of
combination of a confessor

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and Chief of Staff
and friend of Ariel Sharon.

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He had Sharon's confidence.

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Dubi came into my office,
<font color="

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"It is a plan that would allow us
to go forward

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"in terms
of the Palestinian state."

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So what Dubi Weissglas brought
was a proposal for Israel

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to unilaterally withdraw from Gaza.

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<font color="
military forces would be gone.

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And more importantly, settlements,
Israeli settlements in Gaza,

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would be dismantled
and moved out of Gaza.

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He started using the phrase
that Israel was going to withdraw

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<font color="
over the fence.

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And basically, whatever happened
afterwards was not their problem.

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We just sort of all
looked at each other like,

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"Are we actually hearing
what we have been hearing?"

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<font color="

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"..not just a serious decision,

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"this is a matter of
political life or death for him."

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Rice took Sharon's plan
to the President.

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Like so many of his predecessors,
George W Bush had taken office

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<font color="
in the Middle East.

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When the President first heard of
what Dubi Weissglas was proposing,

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he immediately embraced it.

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And when asked why, he said,

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"Because Sharon was willing
to take a bold step."

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<font color="
on the issue of Middle East peace,

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which was really at a dead end.

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I felt, and President Bush felt,
that if you had Ariel Sharon

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willing to talk about
ceding territory,

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it was worth taking the chance.

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<font color="
Ariel Sharon's dedication

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and devotion to the security
of Israel.

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Ariel Sharon was celebrated
by Israelis as a hero

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of their country's long conflict
with its Arab neighbours.

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<font color="

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he'd played a crucial role
in the Six-Day War,

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which saw Israel gain swathes of
land from Jordan, Syria and Egypt,

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including Gaza.

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Since then,
despite international condemnation,

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<font color="

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throughout the
Palestinian territories,

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further cementing its occupation.

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By 2003, there were more than
400,000 Israeli settlers

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living in the West Bank,
including East Jerusalem.

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<font color="
alongside a Palestinian population

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of around a million who were
largely confined to the territory.

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Sharon knew that any withdrawal
would be hugely controversial

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in Israel, not least within
<font color="

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MUSIC: Likud Jingle

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BOOING, WHISTLING

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BOOING

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Watching Sharon's address

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was one of Likud's
most influential politicians.

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When the Prime Minister first
<font color="

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I said that I had no particular
desire to have Israelis

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stay in the Gaza Strip
in a final political settlement.

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But I said, "We're not in
a final political settlement.

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"And if we withdraw unilaterally,

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<font color="
by the Arab terrorist

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"to be a reward for terror."

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So unwittingly, and inadvertently,

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we could be putting wind
in the terrorists' sail.

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Sharon had made clear that
his plan would be carried out

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<font color="
with the Palestinian Authority.

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Arafat summoned his top advisers.

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I remember distinctly
the leadership meeting

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that was held shortly after
Sharon made that announcement

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was characterised by a sense of,
<font color="

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This guy was saying
he's going to disengage from Gaza,

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to withdraw from it. How can we say
no or object or express reservation?

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The gut reaction,
the instinctive reaction

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of many in the Palestinian
<font color="

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to view this as a trap,
as a conspiracy.

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You know, "He wants to do Gaza in
order to take over the West Bank."

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The accusation that Sharon's plan
was simply a smokescreen

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for his designs on the West Bank
<font color="

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and not just with Palestinians.

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Condi came to us and said,

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"There are some people in the world
believe that your willingness

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to leave Gaza is in order
to distract attention

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"from what's happening
<font color="

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"and we might be considered
as part of this conspiracy."

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We insisted that when we thought
about the Gaza withdrawal,

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it couldn't be, as we called it,
Gaza only.

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The more he could do in making clear

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<font color="
and grabbing the West Bank,

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the more we would be able to do
to help Sharon politically.

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Sharon was ready to give up Gaza
for, let's say, good reasons,

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in order to strengthen the Israeli
<font color="

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But he understood very well
that in order to be able

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to pass it through
the Israeli political system,

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he needs to get something
in return,

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and the only ones who could
<font color="

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Sharon agreed to make
a symbolic gesture.

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He'd withdraw from a handful
of settlements in the West Bank

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as well all of those in Gaza.

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In return, he got
the American support he wanted,

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<font color="
that the biggest settlements

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in the West Bank
would remain permanently.

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We thought that however much
they might complain about it,

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this was a huge opportunity
for the Palestinian people

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<font color="

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They got a down payment
on a Palestinian state.

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They got Gaza, a territory
which they would be responsible for

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and they would have an opportunity
to build and show the world

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that they were ready to live
<font color="

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The Palestinian leadership
didn't see it that way -

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and they had even more reason
to be sceptical

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when Sharon's Chief of Staff said
the withdrawal

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would put the peace process
<font color="

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I used the wrong term. I meant to
say that the road map is inactive,

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but it's very much alive.

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And I said it definitely
for the right-wing of our society,

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"The Palestinian statehood
that you are so much against

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<font color="
as might be the case

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"if the world will squeeze us."

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It will happen
maybe 5, 10, 20 years,

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or it may not happen at all.

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Sharon began preparations
for the withdrawal,

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<font color="
for all settlers be relocated.

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Then, with nine months to go,

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came news that shook Palestinians
to the core.

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Yasser Arafat, the man who'd been
the symbol of their resistance

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for 40 years, was dead.

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<font color="
was a very different character.

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Mahmoud Abbas had a background
in diplomacy.

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President Abbas
was the antithesis of Arafat.

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He did not believe that you could
beat the Israelis in a war.

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<font color="
by convincing the Americans

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that the Palestinians were not
going to be reverting to violence.

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The new President vowed to take on
militants like Hamas

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in a way that Arafat never had.

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<font color="
Sharon at a summit in Egypt

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and announced
he would end the Intifada.

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Abbas and his team hoped
they could now persuade Sharon

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to reframe the Gaza withdrawal

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as part of a negotiation
<font color="

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I said to Dov Weissglas,
"Dubi, I understand why you wanted

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"to do it unilaterally
when Arafat was alive,

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"but now you have a new President,

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"why not give us the credit
for this?"

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<font color="
Hamas would say,

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"Look, years of negotiations
have failed to produce any results.

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"Israel only responds to violence,
only responds to force."

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Why not let's sit and negotiate,
even pretend to negotiate?

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<font color="
a couple of statements,

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so I and my team and my boss
can go to our public

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and say that disengagement is
a result of our negotiation process.

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Sharon was very consistent.

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He said, "If we begin negotiations
<font color="

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"it will be endless story
because they will always have

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"new reservations and new complaints
and new demands and we will never

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"be able to do what I already
decided that we should do."

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I remember Weissglas saying to us,

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<font color="
how we have to talk about this."

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"We have to speak about this
in Likudish," he said.

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"This is a language you don't know.

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"To speak to the Likud members,
the only way to get this approved

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<font color="
for Israel.

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"'We're not doing this
for the Palestinians.

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"'We don't care about
the Palestinians.

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"'We're not talking
to the Palestinians.'"

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CHANTING

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<font color="
against Sharon's disengagement plan

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were gathering force.

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Despite pressure
from the right,

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Sharon had managed to keep
his government together.

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Then, just before the withdrawal
<font color="

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one of his key cabinet ministers
called a press conference.

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00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:03,920
I remember he comes in
without the usual staff.

247
00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:09,920
So I whispered to Sharon,
"He's planning a little drama."

248
00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:13,000
We had this feeling
<font color="

249
00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:18,800
I cannot be a partner to a move
that I think

250
00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:25,880
compromises the security of Israel,
tears the people apart.

251
00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:30,720
The only way that we can win
this battle, anywhere, everywhere,

252
00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:34,240
is by confronting terror
<font color="

253
00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,320
Appeasement doesn't work.

254
00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:48,280
A week later, Israel began
the pull-out from Gaza,

255
00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:52,960
sending in its own forces to evict
those settlers who tried to stay.

256
00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:01,400
The operation
bitterly divided Israel.

257
00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:05,400
<font color="
to dismantle the settlements.

258
00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:07,400
SHOUTING

259
00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:14,240
They took our people out
and give the Arabs this building.

260
00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:17,280
Look, this beautiful area.

261
00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:20,040
I want you just to see that.

262
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:23,080
They think that it will be peace?

263
00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:28,000
<font color="
With Arabs, will be no peace here.

264
00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:38,800
The final Israeli troops left Gaza
a month after the operation began.

265
00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:41,160
Israel would still police
the borders,

266
00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:45,040
tightly restrict which goods were
allowed in and out of the territory

267
00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:47,800
<font color="
on the Palestinian Authority

268
00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:51,320
re-arming its police on the ground.

269
00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:53,920
But the day-to-day running of Gaza
inside the fence

270
00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:56,960
was now officially in the hands
of the Palestinians.

271
00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:24,960
CHANTING OVER LOUDSPEAKER

272
00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:29,160
<font color="

273
00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:32,160
Hamas and other militants
were claiming it as a victory.

274
00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:39,240
Since its founding in the 1980s,
Hamas had promised to destroy Israel

275
00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:43,880
by violent resistance, reclaiming
the land they saw as Palestinian.

276
00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:23,360
<font color="
in both Gaza and the West Bank -

277
00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:25,600
and it would soon be
put to the test.

278
00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:35,520
Earlier that year,

279
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:39,080
Hamas leaders had met with
12 other Palestinian factions

280
00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:41,960
and - for the first time in
<font color="

281
00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:46,680
in elections, in return for what
they called a calming of violence.

282
00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:26,840
Leaders of Hamas
were pushing for election.

283
00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:31,040
They felt great self-confidence.

284
00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:32,680
And therefore,
they wanted the election

285
00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:36,400
<font color="
they had a chance to win.

286
00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:49,160
Parliamentary elections
were set for January 2006.

287
00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:53,600
Abbas would remain President
whatever the outcome,

288
00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:55,600
but there would be
a new Prime Minister.

289
00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:02,560
<font color="
Abbas visited the White House.

290
00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:06,360
The question immediately arose,

291
00:24:06,360 --> 00:24:10,000
"You're going to have parliamentary
elections - what about Hamas?"

292
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:12,880
Hamas, to us, was a terrorist group.

293
00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:16,000
How is it that they participate
in the elections?

294
00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:21,160
<font color="
you like free elections.

295
00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:25,280
"Who is my opposition?
It's Hamas.

296
00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:28,800
"And if I don't let them
participate in any way,

297
00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:31,280
"this is a completely
phoney election."

298
00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:34,560
I remember asking
<font color="

299
00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,160
Hamas should be
allowed to participate

300
00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:38,920
if they were still armed.

301
00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:42,440
In other words, should they have
to give up their militia

302
00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:44,080
to participate in the elections,

303
00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:49,240
rather like Sinn Fein had done
<font color="

304
00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,640
And I remember Abbas saying,
"No, if we say that,

305
00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:56,360
"they won't participate,
and then it won't be legitimate."

306
00:24:56,360 --> 00:24:58,960
Conventional wisdom was,
if Hamas showed up,

307
00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:00,640
the whole process
<font color="

308
00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:03,480
But consider how much worse
it would have been.

309
00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:04,760
If they were forced not to,

310
00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:08,040
if they were prevented from
participating, it was a nonstarter.

311
00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,840
The saving grace, in a sense,
in this argument -

312
00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:14,920
<font color="
"They're going to lose.

313
00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:16,720
"I'm going to win.

314
00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:20,400
"Maybe they get 20% of the vote."

315
00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:22,520
Not only does it show
it's a free election,

316
00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:26,360
it shows they have
a low level of support.

317
00:25:26,360 --> 00:25:30,080
<font color="
because there are going to be

318
00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:34,200
some people in Hamas who are gunmen,
who are terrorists,

319
00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:38,160
and there are going to be others
who like the taste of politics.

320
00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:41,360
You will be creating a divide
in Hamas.

321
00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:48,680
<font color="
advocate of a democracy agenda,

322
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:50,880
of empowering people.

323
00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,560
And he thought that it was time
for the Palestinians to be given

324
00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:56,920
an opportunity to weigh in
on the question of their future.

325
00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:02,360
<font color="
had to go forward.

326
00:26:02,360 --> 00:26:04,440
I want to thank President Abbas
for his hard work.

327
00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:06,760
I appreciate your service,
Mr President.

328
00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:12,640
I assured him that the United States
will use our influence

329
00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:17,560
<font color="
of two democratic states,

330
00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:21,800
Israel and Palestine, living
side by side in peace and security.

331
00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:23,600
Thank you, sir. Good job.

332
00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:31,480
The election campaign
was soon in full swing.

333
00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:36,200
Any Palestinian living in Gaza
<font color="

334
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:39,280
including East Jerusalem,
would be allowed to vote.

335
00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:44,920
Abbas's party, Fatah, was struggling
to make a real impact -

336
00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:46,880
even with American support.

337
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:52,040
There was a disconnect
between American culture,

338
00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:55,200
<font color="
and Palestinian political culture.

339
00:26:55,200 --> 00:27:03,040
They sent us the guy who designed
the podium for President Bush.

340
00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:05,320
This was well-intentioned,

341
00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:09,440
but this was irrelevant to
the Palestinian political culture.

342
00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:11,880
No-one cared what the podium
<font color="

343
00:27:13,360 --> 00:27:18,160
I actually went to the West Bank
a week or two before the election,

344
00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:23,720
and it was really extraordinary
because, all over the place,

345
00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:28,000
there were banners
for the Hamas candidates.

346
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,240
And when you looked for
<font color="

347
00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:34,440
Fatah placards on the wall? Nope.

348
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:35,680
It was really quite extraordinary,

349
00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:38,320
because how does Hamas know
how to do all of this?

350
00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:40,520
They'd never been running
in free elections.

351
00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:45,800
Fatah was fielding multiple
<font color="

352
00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:50,200
Hamas was disciplined. They fielded
only one candidate everywhere.

353
00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:53,200
They had a very clear,
unified message.

354
00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:23,720
Hamas ran a masterful campaign.
I remember one of their posters,

355
00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:27,000
very powerful.
<font color="

356
00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,840
"Israel is against Hamas.
Who are you for?"

357
00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:33,160
And you are addressing Palestinians.
I mean, that wins you votes.

358
00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:38,960
With just weeks to go
before the elections,

359
00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:41,400
some Fatah officials
<font color="

360
00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:45,120
They sought help
in an unlikely place.

361
00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:52,600
I was approached by a high-ranked
Palestinian official. And he said...

362
00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:58,640
.."We are in a big problem
with this election,

363
00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:04,160
"but because of the Americans
<font color="

364
00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:08,800
"The only one who can save us
from ourselves, it's you guys."

365
00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:11,680
So I said,
"What are you expecting from us?"

366
00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:14,640
He said, "The issue of
the post offices in Jerusalem."

367
00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:18,360
Palestinians in Jerusalem
<font color="

368
00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:22,240
So all that you need
is for Sharon to say,

369
00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:24,960
"There'll be no voting
in post offices."

370
00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:28,520
Then the Palestinian Authority would
say, "We can't go ahead like this.

371
00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:31,720
"The Israelis have ruined
<font color="

372
00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:35,120
So he said to the Israelis,
"This is what you have to do."

373
00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:39,800
What he said is,
"Make a public statement

374
00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:44,360
"which would be sort of provocative
and we will call off the election.

375
00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:46,400
"Everybody's happy."

376
00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:52,120
<font color="
who are living in East Jerusalem,

377
00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:55,160
Prime Minister Sharon
took a decision

378
00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:58,280
that those who live there
will be able to vote

379
00:29:58,280 --> 00:30:02,000
in the villages around Jerusalem,
like Abu Dis and others,

380
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:08,800
<font color="
within East Jerusalem.

381
00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:16,680
Word soon got around that Abbas was
preparing to cancel the elections.

382
00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:22,080
The American consul general was
dispatched to see the President,

383
00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:24,160
who was also known as Abu Mazen.

384
00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:30,920
<font color="
to convey a message to Abu Mazen

385
00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:33,560
that the administration wanted
the election to go forward.

386
00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:35,800
I passed that message to him,

387
00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:38,040
and after that, there was
no further discussion

388
00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:41,560
from the Palestinian side about
<font color="

389
00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:08,160
As election day came around,
Abbas had reason to be optimistic.

390
00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:11,960
The elections went well.

391
00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:15,680
No problems.
Everybody who wanted to vote voted.

392
00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:21,680
Polls were showing that Hamas
will not win the majority.

393
00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:26,120
<font color="

394
00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:28,000
and Fatah will get the rest.

395
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:31,960
Of course we are optimistic because
we have democratic elections.

396
00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:43,480
I was in Ramallah at the time.

397
00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:48,280
I woke up to a commotion outside.

398
00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:51,640
WHISTLE BLOWS, DRUMMING

399
00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:54,360
SINGING

400
00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:58,840
<font color="
and the reporters were saying

401
00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:01,400
that Hamas had won the election.

402
00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:05,440
Gathered myself,
went to the ministry,

403
00:32:05,440 --> 00:32:09,440
and there was a state of shock,

404
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:13,080
a sense of, "OK, now what?"

405
00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:14,640
CAR HORN BEEPS

406
00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:20,760
<font color="
was that Fatah had won.

407
00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:22,200
So I'm a very early riser,

408
00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:25,960
and the next morning,
I was exercising

409
00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:29,920
and there was a crawl
on the morning news,

410
00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:34,040
and it said, "Hamas wins elections."

411
00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:37,720
<font color="
I thought Fatah won the elections.

412
00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:39,720
"Why would this be the case?"

413
00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:43,720
We got to the office right away
to try to figure out what to do.

414
00:32:45,840 --> 00:32:48,840
You might think we would have
on our desk the scenarios,

415
00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:52,440
<font color="
"and if Fatah wins, we do that,"

416
00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:53,800
but we didn't.

417
00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:56,880
Nobody had any plans
for a Hamas victory.

418
00:32:56,880 --> 00:32:59,560
Nobody believed
it was even conceivable.

419
00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:03,200
This put the United States
<font color="

420
00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:07,280
We were promoting
the freedom agenda,

421
00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:10,520
the importance of democracy,
the importance of elections.

422
00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:13,040
Were we now going to say that
the elections were illegitimate

423
00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:16,000
because Hamas had won them?

424
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:19,480
<font color="
and the message from Washington was,

425
00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:21,600
was there any way he could avoid

426
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:24,920
appointing Hamas
to lead the government?

427
00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:30,000
The president told the Americans,
"You wanted us to have an election,

428
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:34,400
"free election, democratic election,
<font color="

429
00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:38,920
"And now I have to accept the result
and you have to accept it too.

430
00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:41,240
"You have to pay the price with us."

431
00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:51,440
How the international community
responded to the election results

432
00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:54,200
would be determined
<font color="

433
00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:58,840
Established to mediate
Middle East peace talks,

434
00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:03,920
it was made up of the US, EU,
United Nations and Russia -

435
00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:07,200
which was then working with
the Americans in the War on Terror.

436
00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:11,960
Their representatives were attending
<font color="

437
00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:14,360
when Rice called
an emergency meeting.

438
00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:18,400
From the American point of view,

439
00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:20,760
there could be no dealing
with Hamas.

440
00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:27,040
And the argument we made was,
"We will destroy our common position

441
00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:32,080
<font color="
if we say it's OK for Hamas

442
00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:36,239
"to be a terrorist group and be in
this government, and we'll just

443
00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:40,040
"deal with them as if they were not
holding a gun in their other hand."

444
00:34:42,679 --> 00:34:45,040
The Americans proposed
a set of principles

445
00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:47,719
<font color="

446
00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:50,719
They must renounce violence,
recognise Israel

447
00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:53,639
and sign up to previous
peace agreements -

448
00:34:53,639 --> 00:34:56,760
all things that Hamas would
almost certainly reject.

449
00:34:58,280 --> 00:35:01,200
The question was,
<font color="

450
00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:05,200
Russia was the only member of
the Quartet that actually had

451
00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:06,480
a relationship with Hamas.

452
00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:09,800
And so I had to convince
Sergey Lavrov,

453
00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:11,440
the Russian Foreign Minister,

454
00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:15,920
not only that it was important
<font color="

455
00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:19,480
but that Russia was going to have to
carry the water in doing that.

456
00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:22,840
It did take some convincing
with Sergey,

457
00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:26,440
but as we talked it through,
he came to recognise that

458
00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:29,920
the Russian Federation couldn't be
<font color="

459
00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:35,120
in the Middle East. And he did
actually carry the message to Hamas.

460
00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:41,840
The Russians were saying to Hamas,
"Guys, say the magic words."

461
00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:46,440
"Just say some formula about,

462
00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:49,560
"'Of course we want peaceful this
and peaceful that,'"

463
00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:51,960
<font color="

464
00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:54,560
They were remaining Hamas -
armed struggle.

465
00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:18,200
The Hamas party has made it clear

466
00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:22,840
that they do not support
the right of Israel to exist.

467
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:27,160
And I have made it clear,
so long as that's their policy,

468
00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:29,600
<font color="
a Palestinian government

469
00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:31,680
made up of Hamas.

470
00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:35,360
Hamas failed to endorse
the Quartet Principles,

471
00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:38,680
failed to disavow violence
against Israel.

472
00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:41,960
This did not sound to us
like the way to get

473
00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:45,720
<font color="
Palestinian state.

474
00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:50,240
This new democracy that's emerging
in the Palestinian territories

475
00:36:50,240 --> 00:36:52,800
must understand that you can't have
a political party

476
00:36:52,800 --> 00:36:59,400
that also has got a armed wing to
it, that democracies yield peace.

477
00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:04,960
<font color="
but also a state of indignation.

478
00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:11,280
We undertook this process
as you demanded,

479
00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:15,440
at the time that you insisted
we do it,

480
00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:18,600
and now you are rejecting it.

481
00:37:18,600 --> 00:37:23,000
How is that democracy?
<font color="

482
00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:28,400
But we were told in no uncertain
terms by the Quartet, "Nope.

483
00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:33,280
"That outcome is not amenable
to our principles, to our vision.

484
00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:35,920
"You either fix this
or it's a no-go."

485
00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:44,240
Abbas invited Ismail Haniyeh,
<font color="

486
00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:45,600
to become Prime Minister.

487
00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:50,760
The government he formed
would be in charge of crucial parts

488
00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:55,640
of Palestinian life in both Gaza
and the West Bank.

489
00:37:55,640 --> 00:37:59,400
But the Quartet Principles meant
its ministries could not directly

490
00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:02,720
<font color="
on which they desperately relied.

491
00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:07,520
The money would instead
have to go through

492
00:38:07,520 --> 00:38:10,600
the Fatah-run Presidency of Abbas
in Ramallah.

493
00:38:12,640 --> 00:38:17,160
Our hope really was that
Hamas would be isolated in Gaza,

494
00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:22,160
<font color="
become a legitimate political party

495
00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:24,400
or it would remain isolated.

496
00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:28,320
And the hope was that if you had
a failure in Gaza, you had a success

497
00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:33,760
in the West Bank, Palestinian
politics would resolve this issue

498
00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:38,520
<font color="
would throw off the yoke of Hamas.

499
00:38:38,520 --> 00:38:41,360
The Western powers

500
00:38:41,360 --> 00:38:46,880
wanted to create a split between
the President's office

501
00:38:46,880 --> 00:38:49,040
and the Prime Minister's office.

502
00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:54,720
And the split would be total
because the President's office

503
00:38:54,720 --> 00:38:57,600
<font color="
and will be talking to the West

504
00:38:57,600 --> 00:39:02,000
while the government,
with its health ministry

505
00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:07,000
and economic ministry and education
ministry, would receive no money.

506
00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:10,520
This was a disaster
for Palestinians altogether.

507
00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:22,000
<font color="
between Hamas and Fatah was soon

508
00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:26,080
only too evident and quickly
spilled onto the streets of Gaza.

509
00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:32,200
With American backing, Abbas had
started training thousands

510
00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:35,920
of new recruits to his Presidential
<font color="

511
00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:37,720
GUNSHOTS

512
00:39:40,400 --> 00:39:43,200
Hamas fighters refused
to accept their authority.

513
00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:55,960
By early 2007, dozens had died
in clashes between the two sides

514
00:39:55,960 --> 00:39:58,960
and images of Palestinians
killing Palestinians

515
00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:01,560
<font color="
the Arab world.

516
00:40:09,240 --> 00:40:13,080
The region's most powerful leader
decided to intervene.

517
00:40:14,240 --> 00:40:16,400
The King of Saudi Arabia -

518
00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:19,160
the custodian of Islam's
most sacred sites -

519
00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:23,320
invited Hamas and Fatah to Mecca
<font color="

520
00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:28,520
The Saudis pay a lot of money
for the Palestinian Authority.

521
00:40:28,520 --> 00:40:33,600
Therefore, it was not only hard
to say no to them,

522
00:40:33,600 --> 00:40:35,400
it was almost impossible.

523
00:41:39,520 --> 00:41:43,240
The final text didn't mention
the recognition of Israel.

524
00:41:43,240 --> 00:41:46,000
<font color="
and Fatah would stop shedding

525
00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:50,040
Palestinian blood and stressed
the importance of national unity

526
00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:52,040
to confront the Israeli occupation.

527
00:42:43,280 --> 00:42:47,840
Back in Gaza, the divisions between
Hamas and Fatah would only deepen.

528
00:42:50,920 --> 00:42:54,120
<font color="
that the Americans

529
00:42:54,120 --> 00:43:01,320
were helping Fatah to end
the presence of Hamas by force.

530
00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:04,320
And Fatah was thinking the same,

531
00:43:04,320 --> 00:43:11,080
that Hamas was going to do something
to take over Gaza.

532
00:43:11,080 --> 00:43:15,600
So, one night, I decided to go
<font color="

533
00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:19,640
And it was a bit shocking.

534
00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:25,200
We were driving around and we saw,
on every corner of every street,

535
00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:32,360
a Hamas fighter carrying his RPG
on his back, not hiding.

536
00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:39,120
So the next day, I went to
<font color="

537
00:43:39,120 --> 00:43:43,720
that the situation is not good
and something has to happen.

538
00:43:43,720 --> 00:43:45,560
GUNSHOTS

539
00:43:48,040 --> 00:43:50,320
It was Hamas who acted first.

540
00:43:52,640 --> 00:43:56,360
In June, its fighters caught
the Fatah security forces off-guard

541
00:43:56,360 --> 00:43:58,680
and seized control,

542
00:43:58,680 --> 00:44:02,480
<font color="
the legitimacy to run Gaza.

543
00:44:26,040 --> 00:44:29,400
Within days, Hamas had pushed
the Presidential Guard

544
00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:31,200
out of Gaza entirely.

545
00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:37,480
Abbas called his top advisers
to his West Bank headquarters.

546
00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:42,000
There was a very solemn meeting,
<font color="

547
00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:43,600
And, you know, by that time,

548
00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:48,760
the feeling had set in that this
was a violent takeover of power.

549
00:44:48,760 --> 00:44:54,800
Well, this was the
ultimate...scenario, if you want,

550
00:44:54,800 --> 00:45:02,240
the ultimate split. You have
two powers, two factions

551
00:45:02,240 --> 00:45:06,360
<font color="
the West Bank and Gaza.

552
00:45:08,200 --> 00:45:11,000
Abbas's authority
was at rock-bottom.

553
00:45:13,160 --> 00:45:16,920
He'd come to office promising
to negotiate a two-state solution,

554
00:45:16,920 --> 00:45:20,320
but had now lost control of
one of the Palestinian territories

555
00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:22,320
<font color="

556
00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:28,960
Weeks later, he was in Egypt for
a summit with some of the region's

557
00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:32,880
biggest players, including
Israel's new Prime Minister.

558
00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:38,960
Abu Mazen, for all
practical purposes,

559
00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:42,960
seemed to have been dead,
<font color="

560
00:45:42,960 --> 00:45:44,880
to bring him into life again.

561
00:45:46,240 --> 00:45:49,240
Ehud Olmert had taken office
the previous year,

562
00:45:49,240 --> 00:45:51,960
after Ariel Sharon
suffered a massive stroke

563
00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:53,720
from which he would never recover.

564
00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:58,680
Unlike Sharon, Olmert promised
<font color="

565
00:45:58,680 --> 00:46:00,880
with the Palestinians.

566
00:46:00,880 --> 00:46:05,400
Olmert was totally different
to Sharon.

567
00:46:05,400 --> 00:46:11,200
Olmert was the mayor of Jerusalem,
which had East Jerusalem within it.

568
00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:14,600
And therefore he knew how to deal
with the Palestinians,

569
00:46:14,600 --> 00:46:16,160
<font color="

570
00:46:16,160 --> 00:46:20,280
He knew that the predicament
of Abbas

571
00:46:20,280 --> 00:46:22,520
was very difficult at the time.

572
00:46:22,520 --> 00:46:25,160
And he knew that the Israelis
need peace,

573
00:46:25,160 --> 00:46:28,120
need to finish this issue
once and for all.

574
00:46:50,200 --> 00:46:54,400
While we were talking, one of
<font color="

575
00:46:54,400 --> 00:46:57,920
and said, "Prime Minister,
we need you outside."

576
00:46:57,920 --> 00:47:00,600
I have a telephone call. The head
of the secret service calls me,

577
00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:05,760
and he says, "There is a meeting
now taking place in Gaza

578
00:47:05,760 --> 00:47:09,640
"with 12 of all the leaders
<font color="

579
00:47:09,640 --> 00:47:15,840
And he said, "We have an F-16
with one-ton bomb ready,

580
00:47:15,840 --> 00:47:19,640
"and they will all be killed.
I just need your OK."

581
00:47:19,640 --> 00:47:25,960
I said, "Look, I sit right now
with President Mubarak,

582
00:47:25,960 --> 00:47:29,600
"with King Abdullah
<font color="

583
00:47:29,600 --> 00:47:34,160
"If, while we sit in Sharm
El Sheikh, the leaders of Hamas

584
00:47:34,160 --> 00:47:39,520
"will be assassinated -
I mean, eliminated - by us,

585
00:47:39,520 --> 00:47:43,080
"they will be implicated to have
cooperated with us

586
00:47:43,080 --> 00:47:46,720
"in killing Palestinians
<font color="

587
00:47:46,720 --> 00:47:49,840
"And I'm not going to
risk my partners,

588
00:47:49,840 --> 00:47:54,760
"even for the sake of
such...a very desired achievement.

589
00:47:54,760 --> 00:47:56,000
"Say no."

590
00:47:58,280 --> 00:48:01,800
Hamas' leadership in Gaza
remained intact.

591
00:48:01,800 --> 00:48:05,040
And while Olmert and Abbas
<font color="

592
00:48:05,040 --> 00:48:07,840
its fighters were building
their capabilities,

593
00:48:07,840 --> 00:48:11,240
firing barrage after barrage
of rockets into Israel.

594
00:48:17,880 --> 00:48:20,880
For the US President
and his Secretary of State,

595
00:48:20,880 --> 00:48:23,120
the clock was ticking.

596
00:48:23,120 --> 00:48:25,800
<font color="
was coming to an end,

597
00:48:25,800 --> 00:48:29,120
and they desperately
wanted to see a peace deal.

598
00:48:30,760 --> 00:48:35,640
The President thought if Abbas
could work out an agreement

599
00:48:35,640 --> 00:48:39,600
that would establish
a Palestinian state,

600
00:48:39,600 --> 00:48:44,800
<font color="
to the people of Gaza and say,

601
00:48:44,800 --> 00:48:47,680
"Do you want to continue to live
under Hamas?

602
00:48:47,680 --> 00:48:52,160
"Or do you want to join and be part
of this Palestinian state?

603
00:48:52,160 --> 00:48:53,560
"You decide."

604
00:48:53,560 --> 00:48:57,200
Condi was in no doubt that
<font color="

605
00:48:57,200 --> 00:48:59,760
despite, you know, the loss of Gaza.

606
00:48:59,760 --> 00:49:04,160
This was hers. And, after all,
she had a partner in Olmert.

607
00:49:07,880 --> 00:49:09,880
Progress was slow.

608
00:49:09,880 --> 00:49:12,640
After several rounds of talks,
Olmert and Abbas

609
00:49:12,640 --> 00:49:14,240
had made little headway.

610
00:49:15,960 --> 00:49:18,760
<font color="
to move things forward.

611
00:49:24,920 --> 00:49:27,520
I was invited to dinner
with the Prime Minister

612
00:49:27,520 --> 00:49:29,960
and a little bit surprised
that he said to me,

613
00:49:29,960 --> 00:49:31,680
"I want to have dinner
with you alone.

614
00:49:31,680 --> 00:49:33,800
<font color="

615
00:49:34,840 --> 00:49:41,120
There was a table, two seats,
and I started to talk.

616
00:49:41,120 --> 00:49:45,160
The waiters came with food,
and I say, "No, no, no, no!"

617
00:49:45,160 --> 00:49:46,800
And they went!

618
00:49:47,960 --> 00:49:51,800
I could tell that he was
a bit nervous somehow,

619
00:49:51,800 --> 00:49:53,720
<font color="

620
00:49:53,720 --> 00:49:57,160
And he started to say that
he believed that if we were

621
00:49:57,160 --> 00:50:03,200
going to make progress, what he had
to do was to put on the table...

622
00:50:03,200 --> 00:50:07,480
He didn't say it this way, but
it was almost Israel's final offer

623
00:50:07,480 --> 00:50:10,720
on how we would get to
<font color="

624
00:50:10,720 --> 00:50:14,880
And then he began to describe
what he had in mind.

625
00:50:15,920 --> 00:50:19,040
Olmert told Rice that he was ready
to offer Abbas a deal

626
00:50:19,040 --> 00:50:23,280
that would see Israel withdraw
from 95% of the West Bank.

627
00:50:23,280 --> 00:50:26,240
And he even went on to talk about
<font color="

628
00:50:26,240 --> 00:50:29,160
of Jerusalem and its iconic
religious sites.

629
00:50:31,600 --> 00:50:36,760
I said the Arab side of Jerusalem
will be part of a Palestinian state,

630
00:50:36,760 --> 00:50:38,680
will be the capital of
a Palestinian state.

631
00:50:38,680 --> 00:50:42,360
And then I said the Holy Basin
<font color="

632
00:50:42,360 --> 00:50:45,040
the exclusive sovereignty of anyone.

633
00:50:45,040 --> 00:50:47,680
And there will be
a trust of five nations -

634
00:50:47,680 --> 00:50:55,200
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine,
Israel and America -

635
00:50:55,200 --> 00:50:58,280
under the auspices of
the UN Security Council.

636
00:50:58,280 --> 00:51:03,040
<font color="
might be the breakthrough."

637
00:51:03,040 --> 00:51:07,640
It's easy to think of
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

638
00:51:07,640 --> 00:51:09,840
as a political conflict.

639
00:51:09,840 --> 00:51:12,560
But I remember my first trip
to Jerusalem

640
00:51:12,560 --> 00:51:16,360
and looking at the Holy Sites
<font color="

641
00:51:16,360 --> 00:51:19,400
that is only there in Jerusalem

642
00:51:19,400 --> 00:51:23,680
and seeing that the Holy Sites
don't meet in Jerusalem,

643
00:51:23,680 --> 00:51:25,680
they clash in Jerusalem.

644
00:51:25,680 --> 00:51:30,480
And so this acknowledgement that
something had to be done also

645
00:51:30,480 --> 00:51:35,800
about the religious element of
<font color="

646
00:51:35,800 --> 00:51:40,120
I was very excited
because it was the first time

647
00:51:40,120 --> 00:51:44,720
that I presented the full scale,
the whole programme.

648
00:51:44,720 --> 00:51:48,960
And it... It erupts like a volcano

649
00:51:48,960 --> 00:51:52,920
from my chest to her.

650
00:51:52,920 --> 00:51:55,160
I was writing as fast as I could,

651
00:51:55,160 --> 00:51:57,160
<font color="
with what I was hearing,

652
00:51:57,160 --> 00:52:03,200
and he was accelerating in
his speech as he went through this.

653
00:52:03,200 --> 00:52:06,840
And I knew that this was
a very special moment

654
00:52:06,840 --> 00:52:09,440
and what to do about it,
what to do with it.

655
00:52:10,960 --> 00:52:14,040
<font color="
to talk to her team.

656
00:52:15,120 --> 00:52:16,720
I was amazed by the offer

657
00:52:16,720 --> 00:52:22,840
because it went much further than
the Israelis had ever gone.

658
00:52:22,840 --> 00:52:25,640
My reaction to this was,
"Wait a minute.

659
00:52:25,640 --> 00:52:28,640
"He told Condi.
<font color="

660
00:52:28,640 --> 00:52:31,280
And I was actually fearful.

661
00:52:31,280 --> 00:52:37,400
Because where are we
if Olmert proposes this to Abbas

662
00:52:37,400 --> 00:52:40,640
and Abbas says yes

663
00:52:40,640 --> 00:52:45,120
and the Israeli cabinet says no,
or the Knesset says no?

664
00:52:45,120 --> 00:52:47,800
That's the end of the peace effort.

665
00:52:50,400 --> 00:52:53,520
<font color="
to present his plan to Abbas,

666
00:52:53,520 --> 00:52:57,080
he was forced to confront
a different problem.

667
00:52:57,080 --> 00:52:59,520
NEWSREADER: The Israeli
Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert,

668
00:52:59,520 --> 00:53:02,880
has denied allegations that he took
<font color="

669
00:53:02,880 --> 00:53:05,040
from an American businessman.

670
00:53:05,040 --> 00:53:07,680
The allegation, essentially,
is that he received

671
00:53:07,680 --> 00:53:11,280
hundreds of thousands of dollars
from a Jewish-American financier

672
00:53:11,280 --> 00:53:15,560
who is known in Israeli press
as The Laundryman.

673
00:53:15,560 --> 00:53:19,040
<font color="
in Yiddish, it's a "lange maiseh" -

674
00:53:19,040 --> 00:53:20,840
it's a long story -

675
00:53:20,840 --> 00:53:27,880
because from day one of
my Prime Ministership,

676
00:53:27,880 --> 00:53:31,680
there were investigations
conducted against me

677
00:53:31,680 --> 00:53:33,680
by all my political rivals.

678
00:53:33,680 --> 00:53:39,760
<font color="
that I was, in a way,

679
00:53:39,760 --> 00:53:42,840
playing on a borrowed time,

680
00:53:42,840 --> 00:53:47,000
and therefore I have to hurry up and
to move forward as fast as I can.

681
00:53:56,000 --> 00:53:59,280
After police launched
an official investigation,

682
00:53:59,280 --> 00:54:03,360
Olmert announced he would step down
<font color="

683
00:54:07,000 --> 00:54:10,560
Nevertheless, he decided to
press ahead with Abbas.

684
00:54:13,240 --> 00:54:18,280
We went to this meeting.
It was the President and myself.

685
00:54:19,760 --> 00:54:25,560
So after we had some time talking,

686
00:54:25,560 --> 00:54:29,600
Olmert asked the President
to go with him to a separate room.

687
00:54:29,600 --> 00:54:33,200
<font color="
and I presented it to Abu Mazen.

688
00:54:33,200 --> 00:54:37,720
This is the first time that
I exposed this map to the media.

689
00:54:37,720 --> 00:54:40,480
You can see here it says,

690
00:54:40,480 --> 00:54:47,000
"Annexed to Israel 4.9% of
the territory of the West Bank,"

691
00:54:47,000 --> 00:54:51,560
and the blue stains here
<font color="

692
00:54:51,560 --> 00:54:54,200
or what was planned
to be annexed to Israel.

693
00:54:55,440 --> 00:54:58,360
The map that Olmert presented
showed Israel withdrawing

694
00:54:58,360 --> 00:55:01,440
from the vast majority
of the West Bank.

695
00:55:01,440 --> 00:55:03,680
It would retain
the largest settlements,

696
00:55:03,680 --> 00:55:07,280
<font color="
Israeli land in return.

697
00:55:08,560 --> 00:55:12,240
The plan would also connect Gaza
and the West Bank via a tunnel

698
00:55:12,240 --> 00:55:16,160
or highway, to help re-unite
the two territories politically.

699
00:55:17,920 --> 00:55:22,120
He said, "Prime Minister,
this is very serious.

700
00:55:22,120 --> 00:55:25,440
<font color="

701
00:55:25,440 --> 00:55:27,080
He says, "Give me the map."

702
00:55:27,080 --> 00:55:30,120
I said, "President, I will not
give you the map

703
00:55:30,120 --> 00:55:33,120
"unless you sign it by initials."

704
00:55:33,120 --> 00:55:36,160
I said, "President, I beg you.

705
00:55:36,160 --> 00:55:38,720
"Listen, in the next 50 years,

706
00:55:38,720 --> 00:55:42,400
"you will not find one Israeli
<font color="

707
00:55:42,400 --> 00:55:48,200
"what I propose to you now. Sign it,
sign it and let's change history!"

708
00:55:48,200 --> 00:55:56,200
And he said to me, you know, "I need
my map expert to go over it."

709
00:55:56,200 --> 00:55:58,440
So I said, "OK, let's set up
a meeting tomorrow

710
00:55:58,440 --> 00:56:02,240
<font color="
my map expert." And he said, "Fine."

711
00:56:02,240 --> 00:56:05,200
So we parted, you know, like

712
00:56:05,200 --> 00:56:09,280
we are about to embark on
an historic step forward.

713
00:56:11,640 --> 00:56:16,400
We said goodbye
and we went into the car.

714
00:56:16,400 --> 00:56:19,240
And the President said that
<font color="

715
00:56:19,240 --> 00:56:23,320
"If you agree to this,
we can sign a deal."

716
00:56:24,840 --> 00:56:30,440
And of course we laughed

717
00:56:30,440 --> 00:56:34,720
because it is unfortunate
that Olmert,

718
00:56:34,720 --> 00:56:40,920
regardless of how nice he was, he's
a lame duck - in American terms -

719
00:56:40,920 --> 00:56:46,080
<font color="
we will go nowhere with this.

720
00:56:46,080 --> 00:56:52,800
Next day, they called,

721
00:56:52,800 --> 00:56:56,680
and they said, "Well, the President
forgot that he has got to go

722
00:56:56,680 --> 00:56:59,240
"to Amman and, you know,
we'll come back to you."

723
00:57:00,360 --> 00:57:03,680
I've been waiting 15 years for this.

724
00:57:09,440 --> 00:57:13,000
<font color="
Abbas flew to America to see Bush.

725
00:57:14,360 --> 00:57:16,760
Mr President, welcome back.

726
00:57:16,760 --> 00:57:18,960
The American President
hadn't given up hope

727
00:57:18,960 --> 00:57:22,640
of making a breakthrough
before he left office.

728
00:57:22,640 --> 00:57:26,400
His argument to Abbas was,
<font color="

729
00:57:26,400 --> 00:57:29,160
"and do a peace deal now."

730
00:57:29,160 --> 00:57:33,880
If he would accept a peace deal
with the Israelis,

731
00:57:33,880 --> 00:57:36,520
it would then give him a platform

732
00:57:36,520 --> 00:57:38,560
to go to the people of Gaza

733
00:57:38,560 --> 00:57:41,400
and bring Gaza and the West Bank
back together.

734
00:57:41,400 --> 00:57:46,160
<font color="
for boldness, for leadership,

735
00:57:46,160 --> 00:57:48,520
"a historic opportunity."

736
00:57:48,520 --> 00:57:53,040
And unfortunately,
Abbas did not seize it.

737
00:57:53,040 --> 00:57:57,320
Olmert presented this map
to President Abbas

738
00:57:57,320 --> 00:58:00,600
but told him that he cannot
<font color="

739
00:58:00,600 --> 00:58:06,600
How can you sign on the biggest deal
in the history of the Palestinians -

740
00:58:06,600 --> 00:58:08,720
that is peace agreement
with Israel -

741
00:58:08,720 --> 00:58:13,000
when you don't know what the map
looked like exactly,

742
00:58:13,000 --> 00:58:16,520
and what are the conditions
<font color="

743
00:58:16,520 --> 00:58:19,000
That's not a good deal.

744
00:58:19,000 --> 00:58:24,040
We might as well wait for
the next Prime Minister to come.

745
00:58:29,240 --> 00:58:32,440
In four months, Bush would
leave office -

746
00:58:32,440 --> 00:58:34,600
the latest US President
who would do so

747
00:58:34,600 --> 00:58:37,120
without the peace deal
<font color="

748
00:58:40,000 --> 00:58:44,320
Israelis, meanwhile, prepared to
go to the polls in an election

749
00:58:44,320 --> 00:58:48,440
that would determine the course of
the peace process for years to come.

750
00:58:49,880 --> 00:58:56,960
With Netanyahu, you had to lay down
a very strong line to begin with.

751
00:58:56,960 --> 00:58:59,040
<font color="

752
00:58:59,040 --> 00:59:01,400
"You know what I do with people
who disagree with me?"

753
00:59:01,400 --> 00:59:04,240
and then drew a finger
across his neck.