Speaking together on FRANCE 24, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and former Palestinian foreign minister Nasser al-Qudwa defended their vision of a two-state solution despite the devastating war in Gaza. Olmert accused Israel of waging a war with "no legitimacy" since expanding the conflict on March 18, while Qudwa – the nephew of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat – called for international pressure.
Former Israeli prime minister Olmert condemned his successor Netanyahu's March 18 decision to end the ceasefire and expand the war in Gaza, calling it illegitimate. "A war which has no legitimacy at this point" is "in itself a crime", he declared, arguing that most Israelis oppose the conflict's expansion. He also accused Netanyahu of prioritising "personal interests" over national interests, claiming that the Israeli leader "seems to want to continue the war forever" to avoid accountability over the October 7, 2023 attacks.
'Coexistence means two states'
Both Olmert and Qudwa expressed hope in US President Donald Trump's potential to deliver peace, with the former Israeli premier making a direct appeal to the US president. "There is only one person in the world that Netanyahu is scared [of]," Olmert said, urging Trump to summon Netanyahu and tell him "enough is enough".
Qudwa, while calling Trump's ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee "another nut", emphasised the need for international coalition-building.
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The two men dismissed the one-state solution, with Olmert calling it "a prescription for disaster". Despite the devastation in Gaza and ongoing settlement expansion in the West Bank, both remained optimistic.
"Coexistence means two states. [It's] simple," Qudwa concluded. Olmert predicted that their blueprint for peace would be signed "sooner than most people anticipate".
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