Olmert urges Israeli cooperation at U.N.

NEW YORK, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says Israel has a unique opportunity to work with moderate Palestinian leaders.

"As the United Nations General Assembly opens this year, I feel uneasy," Olmert wrote Thursday in a New York Times op-ed piece. "An unnecessary diplomatic clash between Israel and the Palestinians is taking shape in New York, and it will be harmful to Israel and to the future of the Middle East."

Olmert said Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's efforts to block Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' bid for U.N. acknowledgement of a Palestinian state could inflame tensions in the Middle East.

"As tensions grow, I cannot but feel that we in the region are on the verge of missing an opportunity -- one that we cannot afford to miss," he said.

Olmert, who was prime minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, said a two-state solution with the parameters he proposed while prime minister could ensure a more stable Middle East and grant Israel peace and security.

"Israel will not always find itself sitting across the table from Palestinian leaders like Mr. Abbas and the prime minister, Salam Fayyad, who object to terrorism and want peace. Indeed, future Palestinian leaders might abandon the idea of two states and seek a one-state solution, making reconciliation impossible," Olmert wrote.