Yitzhak Rabin was one of history's great generals, in Israel and in the long history of the Western way of war. And like many such soldiers, he was a man a peace. He knew, as a master of war, that war would not solve the problems facing his country.

He said that Israel did not need to make peace with Belgium. It needed to make peace with her enemies. And so, as prime minister of Israel, he set out to do so.

He was, I think, a realist about what kind of peace is available. He was therefore an advocate, and an architect, of a hard border between Israel and Palestine. Because he understood that there would be irredentists on the Arab side indefinitely (as there were and are in many new states), and his first priority was always the safety and security of his own people.