But he said he blamed the left wing, with which he once identified himself, for convincing mainstream Israelis that peace was possible.

“The tragedy is that they succeeded, that they did convince Israelis to make peace with the [Palestinian Liberation Organization],” he said. “The other tragedy is that it literally blew up in our faces.”

Halevi also said that some sort of resolution could be possible, but only in the distant future.

“There will not be an agreement to answer all Palestinian grievances—not in this generation,” he said. “Maybe once Arafat leaves we can have some interim agreements.”

Halevi also discussed the security fence Israel is currently building, which Israeli leaders say is needed to keep out Palestinian suicide bombers.

He dismissed the claim by the fence’s opponents that it is “an apartheid wall—it is neither a wall nor apartheid.”

But he added that he did think that the wall would determine the future boundaries of Israel.

“My vision is a unilateral withdrawal of Israel to behind the fence so that the Palestinians can create what will almost surely be a failed state, and we’ll live with it as best we can,” he said.

Halevi also said that Israelis should no longer negotiate returning any part of Jerusalem to the Palestinians because of security concerns.

“Jerusalem will remain united because of this war,” he said. “That is the irony of this war and what I’d call the poetic justice of this war.”