Ehud Olmert gave an interview yesterday in which he had some interesting things to say. I havent seen the full video and full interview, and when I do it will be posted. So far I have only seen clips and excerpts in articles.

Of the various topics discussed in the interview, the part I have found most interesting is his discussion of why he was "taken down" - why he was investigated and put in jail.

Olmert claims that he was very close to making peace with the Palestinians and that is why Adelson and Netanyahu had him brought down. He says he freed himself, I presume he means of his previous opinions, and went where nobody before had been willing to go and was very close to achieving peace because of it.

This goes against the narrative we have heard, from both right wing and left wing sources, about why Olmert failed to make peace despite his willingness to go further than any other prime minister in what he was offering to the Palestinians. The narrative says that he made the offer but the Palestinians did not even get back to him about it - they rejected it by not even responding.

Just because he made an offer does not mean he was close to making peace, considering the Palestinians did not accept the offer, did not make a counter-offer or counter-claim, and did not even bother responding to the offer in any way. It means he offered more, but it does not mean he was close to making peace.

I have heard that basic narrative over the years from both right wing and left wing sources discussing what happened back then. They may argue on defining it and on what it means for the future and for the integrity of the parties involved, but I have never heard a different narrative about what happened.

Yet comes along Olmert, the main player of the time, and says he was close and was brought down because of it. Is the basic narrative we have been fed all these years wrong? Was he really close? Is Olmert simply delusional and was not actually as close as he thinks he was. Was he so caught up in making peace that he did not see, and still does not see, that as interested as he was the Palestinians were not? Did the Palestinians really get back to him and the proposal just needed a little more tweaking?