Simon Sebag Montefiore Quotes

You know, I said in the U.N., I said to President Abbas, 'Look, we're in the same city, we're in the same building, for God's sake, the U.N. Let's just sit down and begin to talk peace.'

It is the hope of the European Union that Ariel Sharon will keep the peace process alive and continue the dialogue according to the wishes of all the parties involved.

We must continue to foster relevant and constructive dialogue among Israeli and Palestinian communities.

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Take that off the table. Tell both sides to come together and say, 'Okay, you decide how you want to split up Jerusalem. You decide if you're going to create boundaries or borders there.' And let them decide.

Jared Kushner is the last person that should be trying to bring peace to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

We believe that we should come to an agreement with the Palestinians. But we need two to tango.

The only way to security for Israel and a humane life for Palestinians in their own land is political. No matter where the fault for past negotiating failures lies, there is no other path.

It is high time that the Arab world's professed desire for peace is matched by responsible action, and not more of the same equivocation.

Our response has been, 'Well, let's then make an effort to get the Israelis and the Palestinians to sit around the table.' That hasn't happened. So we only have ourselves to blame for this crisis.

There is nothing that I'd love to do more than negotiate with Palestinians. This is my desire. This is my dream. This is my mission.

I think the Obama administration, whether it's in his first term or second term, is totally committed to the search for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and we greatly appreciate the president's effort, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the first administration, now Secretary of State John Kerry.

The security and the future of Jordan is hand-in-hand with the future of the Palestinians and the Israelis.

My colleagues and I have gone in the footsteps of our predecessors since the very first day we were called by our people to care for their future. We went any place, we looked for any avenue, we made any effort to bring about negotiations between Israel and its neighbors, negotiations without which peace remains an abstract desire.

There is not going to be a peace process unless there is talks involving Israel, Hezbollah and Hamas, and I think everyone knows that.

How have the past four years served Israel or the Palestinians? We want a solution for the sake of humanity.

Debating the peace process to most Israelis is the equivalent of debating the color of the shirt you were going to wear when landing on Mars.

There is no such thing as a happy compromise. Israelis and Palestinians cannot become one happy family because they are not one, not happy and not family either. They are two unhappy families who must divide a small house into even smaller apartments. The first step, is to sign peace with clenched teeth, and after signing the contract, start working slowly on a gradual emotional de-escalation on both sides.

If the Palestinians will one day decide to wake up and join a diplomatic process that is being carried out with the support of countries in the region, with international support - welcome. But I'm not waiting.

The relationship between the Jews and Arabs is necessary to help build a bridge between Israelis and Palestinians.

We must stay focused on the bilateral negotiations between the Palestinians and us.

Rosalynn said, "Jimmy, if we could only get Prime Minister Begin and President Sadat up here on this mountain for a few days, I believe they might consider how they could prevent another war between their countries." That gave me the idea, and a few weeks later, I invited both men to join me for a series of private talks. In September 1978, they both came to Camp David.

We appreciate the efforts of the United States, of the president, of the secretary of state, and we are ready to find any form of talks, but we have to overcome the differences between Syria and Israel to reach peace.

Blowing up buses will not induce the Israelis to move forward, and neither will the killing of Palestinians or the demolition of their homes and their future. All this needs to stop. And we pledge that Jordan will do its utmost to help achieve it.

It's necessary for Israelis and Palestinians to make the compromises that are required to get the direct talks back on track.

The Palestinian must stop throwing stones, and the Israelis must stop firing rockets. And in the view of the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, rockets are equal to stones.