Former prime minister Ehud Olmert has revealed for the first time a map outlining a proposed Israeli-Palestinian peace deal that he presented to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in August 2008.
The map, which had never been disclosed until now, was part of Olmert’s offer for a two-state solution. Abbas, Olmert said, had to sketch the proposal onto a napkin during their meeting. “For the next 50 years, you won’t find a single Israeli leader who will offer you what I’m offering now,” Olmert recalled telling Abbas in an interview for the documentary "Israel and the Palestinians – The Road to October 7."
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Former Prime Minister diplays the 2008 map outlining a two-state solution
(Photo: BBC)
Olmert said he urged Abbas to sign the agreement immediately. “I told him, ‘Sign this, sign this now!’” The plan included Israel annexing 4.9% of the West Bank, while ceding an equivalent amount of land to a future Palestinian state, which would have been granted sovereignty over more than 94% of the territory.
As part of the proposal, Israel would have connected the West Bank to the Gaza Strip – already under Hamas control at the time – via a tunnel or highway. Olmert recalled Abbas’ reaction to the offer, saying the Palestinian leader responded: “Prime Minister, this is very serious. Very, very serious.” Abbas later claimed in interviews with Israeli media that, had negotiations continued, he believed a deal could have been reached “within two months.”
The plan would have allowed Israel to retain its major settlement blocs, including Maale Adumim, Ariel and Kedumim, but required the evacuation of dozens of smaller settlements throughout the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.
Olmert’s proposal also sought to address the division of Jerusalem, one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Under the plan, each side could have claimed parts of the city as its capital, while a “trusteeship committee” consisting of Israel, the Palestinians, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United States would have overseen the administration of the Old City and its religious sites.
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The two-state solution map proposed by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in 2008
(Photo: BBC)
Olmert said he never gave Abbas a copy of the proposed map and insisted the Palestinian leader could only receive it if he signed the agreement on the spot. Abbas refused, saying he needed to consult with his advisers. “We parted ways as if we were about to make history,” Olmert said.
However, Abbas’ then-chief of staff, Rafiq al-Husseini, described a different reaction in the documentary. He said that after the meeting the Palestinian delegation laughed in the car on the way back. He argued that Olmert’s political situation — he had already announced plans to resign amid corruption investigations — meant the offer was unlikely to be implemented. “No matter how nice he was, Olmert was a lame duck,” al-Husseini said. “We knew this wasn’t going anywhere.”
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The situation in Gaza also complicated the peace process. Months after the proposal, Israel launched a military offensive, Operation Cast Lead, following repeated rocket attacks from the Strip.
Olmert maintains that Abbas missed a historic opportunity. “It would have been very smart of Abbas to sign this,” he said. Had the Palestinian leader accepted the plan, Olmert argued, any future Israeli prime minister who sought to revoke it would have borne full responsibility for the failure of the peace process.
Months later, in February 2009, Israel held elections that brought Benjamin Netanyahu—then and now prime minister — back to power. Olmert’s proposal and map, the documentary’s creators note, became a historical footnote.