In an interview with Jerusalem Radio Friday evening Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that he never considered resigning, and that doing so would have been irresponsible. "Resigning is not a show of responsibility, it is a show of irresponsibility," the prime minister said. In discussing his reaction to the Winograd Committee's interim report, Olmert described how he felt the evening after its publication. "Of course it was not the easiest or simplest moment," Olmert said. "I got home in the evening, and I can't say that I was happy. Aliza said that Shaul, our son, who's in New York, was getting on a plane and flying to Israel. That really touched me, it's really helpful to have family like that during hard times."
Asked whether the Jerusalem issue constitutes an obstacle to peace, Olmert said that although he remained optimistic it has remained a difficult problem. "I am an optimistic man," the prime minister said. "I believe that in the end we will succeed, but I agree that we still have perhaps the most difficult and complex problem to solve - complex because it touches on our deepest sensitivities."