JERUSALEM, May 20 (AP/UNB) - Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is urging Israeli leaders to relinquish the idea of a unified Jerusalem if they truly want peace.

Olmert contends that years of government neglect have kept the Jewish and Palestinian sectors divided.

The comments, made as Israel marked the 45th anniversary of capturing east Jerusalem, were nearly unprecedented for mainstream Israeli leaders and put him at odds with his successor, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Celebrating Israel's control of Jerusalem, Netanyahu declared his government was committed to keeping Jerusalem Israel's undivided capital.

"You can't talk about peace and say you want peace and not believe that is going to oblige us to shed slogans we all used to use," Olmert told Sunday's Maariv daily.