Regardless of some disagreements in the past with Dr. Kissinger, I personally had a very good relationship with the secretary when I served as ambassador to the United States and later on as premier.
— Yitzhak Rabin
Let the Palestinians run their affairs: create a situation in which no Israeli soldier will have to maintain public order, whether in Gaza or the West Bank. Let's give it to the Palestinians, as long as there is security for us. No more occupying another people.
Although it is true that Hizballah is organized, inspired, financed, and armed by Iran, its main bases in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley are under Syrian military control.
I'm trying to learn the lessons of the past, but not to make speeches about the past.
Terror cannot be finished by one war.
I don't believe that in the name of the holiness of the city you have to put barbed wires, machine gun nests, mine pins and everything of that, in the name of the holiness of Jerusalem.
I don't see any reason to discriminate against homosexuals.
We do not celebrate the death of our enemies.
I enter negotiations with Chairman Arafat, the leader of the PLO, the representative of the Palestinian people, with the purpose to have coexistence between our two entities, Israel as a Jewish state and Palestinian state, entity, next to us, living in peace.
I believe that in the long run, separation between Israel and the Palestinians is the best solution for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The world is no longer against us.
In the midst of fighting there is no place for public debate.
It is not worth the paper it is written on unless it is backed by the kind of force that will make the other side consider the penalties too heavy to break the agreement.
I believe however that peace is attainable regardless of the Arabs mentality, society or government.
We must fight terrorism as if there's no peace process and work to achieve peace as if there's no terror.
In the Jewish tradition, there is at the same time Jerusalem in the heavens and Jerusalem on the ground. Jerusalem is a living city, but also the heart, the soul of the Jewish people and the state of Israel.
Arafat carried out what I consider to be atrocities.
As prime minister, I changed Israel's position on peace negotiations. I made it clear that we are ready to go along with Resolution 242 of the U.N. Security Council, which specifies withdrawal to secure and recognized boundaries in the context of peace.
I don't want to be the policeman of Lebanon. It's not the business of Israel. Israel was not created to serve as a policeman of the region.
You can always make peace with an F-16 in your pocket.
I think that life in Israel is sometimes bigger than the movies.
It is our duty, to ourselves and to our children, to see the new world as it is now.
Only the change on the international scene, the crisis in the gulf, and the strong, firm position of the United States against aggression between two Arab countries created realities that led to the Madrid Peace Conference.
Israel's willingness to cooperate closely with the U.S. in protecting American interests in the region altered her image in the eyes of many officials in Washington.
I am 73 years old. I was born in Jerusalem. I'm the first prime minister of Israel to be born here. I am the only former general to become a prime minister.
Practically the only way to dry the swamp of radical Islam is through economic development and an improved standard of living.
The struggle to get weapons is continuous, but the United States will aid us, if it finds Israel displaying a willingness for peace.
Israel has an important principle: It is only Israel that is responsible for our security.
A diplomatic peace is not yet the real peace. It is an essential step in the peace process leading towards a real peace.
I don't pretend that I can imagine myself as a Palestinian.
Lebanon is a Syrian protectorate. The Lebanese dare not do anything without the approval of Damascus.
President Sadat of Egypt made a historic breakthrough in 1977 when he put an end to war and convinced both Egyptians and Israelis that he was ready to make peace. He broke down the walls of suspicion and prejudice.
In fighting terror, you cannot let it interfere with the normal life of civilians in Israel.
As far as Israel, I am not worried about the relations between Israel and the United States.
There's nothing harder than defining oneself.
Give peace a chance.
I would like Israel to be a Jewish state, and therefore not to annex over 2 million Palestinians who live in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to Israel, which will make Israel a bi-national state.
Israel is no longer a people that dwells alone, and has to join the global journey toward peace, reconciliation and international cooperation.
We must think differently, look at things in a different way. Peace requires a world of new concepts, new definitions.
Jerusalem is united, will never be divided again.
No Arab ruler will consider the peace process seriously so long as he is able to toy with the idea of achieving more by the way of violence.
I believe that it is my responsibility as the prime minister of Israel to do whatever can be done to exploit the unique opportunities that lie ahead of us to move towards peace. Not everything can be done by one act.
You don't make peace with friends. You make it with very unsavory enemies.
