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We did not think that [Egyptian President] Nasser wanted war. The two divisions he sent to Sinai on May 14 would not have been sufficient to launch an offensive against Israel. He knew it and we knew it.

Yitzhak Rabin

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Yitzhak Rabin
Age: 73 †
Born: 1922
Born: March 1
Died: 1995
Died: November 4
Diplomat
Former Prime Minister Of Israel
Military Officer
Politician
Jerusalem
Middle East
Itzhak Rabin
Itshak Rabin
May
Division
Wanted
Sent
Would
Sufficient
Nasser
Think
Israel
Sinai
Thinking
Knew
Divisions
President
Egyptian
War
Launch
Two
Offensive

More quotes by Yitzhak Rabin

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We will not leave the Golan Heights, not even in exchange for a peace treaty. We will be ready for a limited compromise and it does not have to be in territorial terms.
Yitzhak Rabin
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The Government chose to give peace a chance. The Government chose to do something to achieve it.
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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.
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I admire King Hussein his courage in leading his country for a long time.
Yitzhak Rabin
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Jerusalem is united, will never be divided again.
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If you have the same problem for a long time, maybe it's not a problem. Maybe it's a fact.
Yitzhak Rabin
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A diplomatic peace is not yet the real peace. It is an essential step in the peace process leading towards a real peace.
Yitzhak Rabin
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One of my theories about why we've been cranky is Australians have been forced to focus on politics or party politics a little bit more than they normally would.
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You don't make friends with friends. You have got to make friends with your enemies.
Yitzhak Rabin
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It is the duty of the government to guarantee maximum security, and this is not an easy task.
Yitzhak Rabin
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We have the right to ensure our security, especially when it is possible to reach agreement on a political solution.
Yitzhak Rabin
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We'll fight terror like there's no peace, and make peace like there's no terror.
Yitzhak Rabin
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[Israel will] create in the course of the next 10 or 20 years conditions which would attract natural and voluntary migration of the refugees from the Gaza Strip and the west Bank to Jordan. To achieve this we have to come to agreement with King Hussein and not with Yasser Arafat.
Yitzhak Rabin
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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.
Yitzhak Rabin
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You have got to sit down and talk to people. You can't understand people from a distance.
Yitzhak Rabin
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There is no way of finding the middle ground, even with the best intentions of the world. Our most sensible policy is to stall.
Yitzhak Rabin
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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.
Yitzhak Rabin
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Vis a vis the Golan Heights, the present government of Israel, under my leadership, is the first government that is ready to speak about a withdrawal.
Yitzhak Rabin
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There are two phases of the redeployment of the Israeli forces in the West Bank: One, to allow elections. Second, after the elections, to help further redeployment.
Yitzhak Rabin
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I, serial number 30743, Major General Yitzhak Rabin, am a soldier in the army of peace.
Yitzhak Rabin