In a scathing article published in Haaretz, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert blasted current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for extending the war in Gaza, escalating tensions with Hezbollah, and empowering Israeli thugs terrorizing Palestinians in the West Bank.
Olmert explained that Netanyahu should be removed from office and face a trial for his many failures since October 7. “For each of these accusations, Netanyahu must stand trial in the court of the people of Israel. This must not be delayed,” he wrote. “Every additional day that this cursed man continues to bear nominal responsibility for the running of the state is a day that poses a concrete danger to its future and its existence.”
The op-ed pointed to numerous acts for which Netanyahu should be held responsible. “I accuse the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, of taking deliberate action to prolong the war between Israel and the Palestinian murder organizations,” he wrote. “The desire to drag out the fighting without specifying an end date is the reason precise objectives have not been set for the combat forces.”
Olmert made a similar accusation about the escalating war with Hezbollah. Netanyahu intends “to expand the war and initiate a direct, all-out military confrontation with Hezbollah in the north.” The prime minister is ignoring “French and U.S. mediation… that will bring an end to the current violent conflict.”
Over the past eight months, most of the world’s attention has been on the Israeli military operations in Gaza. However, at the same time, Tel Aviv has advanced its plan to annex the West Bank. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, and thousands driven from their homes. Olmert blames Netanyahu for the growing violence.
I accuse the prime minister of Israel of taking deliberate actions meant to cause a widespread flare-up of violence in the West Bank, in the knowledge that this would trigger the expansion of war crimes against Palestinians who are not involved in terrorism in any way. Such crimes are already being committed by many Israelis; usually these are not military conscripts but rather private militias made up of thugs carrying guns that in most cases were given to them – in a questionable process that demands legal review – in a move initiated by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. These weapons serve many of them in their riots and protect them when they brutalize Palestinians: burning their property and destroying the fields that are a source of life and sustenance, as well as directly killing innocent people.
Olmert also pointed to specific decisions that have harmed the Israeli people, including refusing to negotiate the release of the hostages. “His refusal to reach an agreement that would allow all the hostages to return to Israel is based on the argument that it would prevent a total victory.” He continues, “It was meant to be an impossible goal that would allow the prime minister, any time he chooses, to blame the failure to achieve it on the military.”
Noticeably absent from Olmert’s critique of Nentayahu was a concern for the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza. The war in Gaza is vastly popular with the Israeli people. Nearly 80% of Israelis support the war or demand Nentayahu escalate further, while only a fifth say Tel Aviv has gone too far in the Strip.
The op-ed argues that not only is Netanyahu failing to achieve his war aims, but Israel is struggling domestically.“The economy is crashing, public services are crashing, entire areas of the country are deserted and the government has no plan and has made no effort to create a response that could improve the situation and spark a flicker of hope,” Olmert wrote.
The war has come at a huge financial cost to Tel Aviv and the Israeli economy. The war in Gaza is estimated to have cost Israel $60 billion so far, with a massive rebuilding project that will have to be funded in the near future. Additionally, the war has forced many Israelis to leave their jobs, and over 60,000 citizens have been displaced by the fighting along the border with Lebanon.
Netanyahu has refused to sign on to any deal that will see the Israeli captives released in exchange for a permanent end to the fighting before Hamas is eradicated. Top Israeli officials have publicly stated that the prime minister’s goal of eliminating Hamas is impossible.
Still, Tel Aviv has been able to continue the onslaught in Gaza and the tit-for-tat exchanges because of massive US assistance. Olmert warned Netanyahu has made a “deliberate attempt to destroy the political-security-military alliance between Israel and the US,” adding that the “entire Israel Air Force relies completely on American aircraft: fighter planes, transport planes, refueler planes and helicopters. All of Israel’s air power is based on the American commitment to defend Israel.”
While the relationship between Biden and Netanyahu may have soured some after the Israeli leader attacked Washington in a video posted to X last week. Top American officials continue to state that the ties between Israel and the US remain ironclad.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host of Conflicts of Interest.
This feels like Christmas and Easter rolled into one!
"…and the Palestinian murder organizations…"
Let's not imagine toooo much daylight between Olly Olly Olmert-free & Netanyahu. Both have the same far-Right vision for the ASI's future (and how it doesn't include Palestinians), they're just bickering over how quick to proceed.
And how badly to treat them.
Yes, he never says the magic words, the macro-crime … "Justice for the Palestinians."
If someone in the US were to make the same allegations as Olmert did, under the proposed "anti-Semitism" act he would be jailed, fined, and anything else the US zionists can think of to do.
Haven’t read the bill, have you? It applies expressly to federally funded colleges and universities, and requires them to use a particular definition of “anti-semitism” when investigating complaints of discrimination.
It’s a bad bill, but anyone in the US can say anything Olmert said without risking a fine or jail under it.
That's a quibble. The ADL has never shown an interest in strict legality to say the least. The law itself is illegal.
Sure, if "if your brother-in law doesn't take his library book back in time he's liable for a five cent per day fine, but no, you won't dragged out into the street and executed" is a "quibble."
Otherwise, not so much.
It's a bad bill, but it only is what it actually is, not whatever someone happens to fantasize it is.
This bill will take a life of its own but slowly be extended to other areas as many in congress have been suggesting to label anti zionism and anti Israel speech and opinions A form of hate speech.
There will almost certainly be other bills that do other bad things.
This bill does one, and only one, thing: It requires that "the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights take into consideration the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA's) working definition of antisemitism when reviewing or investigating complaints of discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance."
Antisemitism is rapidly becoming acceptable.so the bill is quite just.
The bill is not just at all. The definition it incorporates includes opposition to an ethno-nationalist movement (Zionism) that compares it to similar movements (Nazism, for example) under the label "anti-semitism," which it clearly is not.
Well, those people ought to look in the mirror and recognize the paralells between their own, Gaza's, and any other number of the world's famous genocides. "Shaming of the other" is endemic in nearly all the world's cultures, one way or another.
Just a political publicity stunt.
Didn’t Epstein work for Olmert? Someone claimed he did, sounded believable… Netanyahu vs. Olmert is fierce.
Alternatively, Netanyahu has played the bad guy. Now, perhaps he’ll retire to take all the sin on himself. And Israel will seek reconciliation.
More chitchat while children and old people die of hunger. Israel will not open crissings, and food that arrived via pier — not distributed as Israel targets food distribution workers, Rafah crossing distroyed by Israel. And this is ALL OK?
And US is keeping quiet. The entire West is keeping quiet. What oher people think — we do not care, and their opinions are never mentioned in our establishment media. We vent into the thin air. And let our politicians get away with the murder, more like genocide. ICC did not dare indict Netanyahu. Of course, this is the court for Africans and Russians.
UN experts keep on droning on and on — catastrophic situation, blah blah. Move to another subject. Debate tommorow.
"UN experts keep on droning on and on — catastrophic situation, blah blah. Move to another subject. Debate tomorrow." You summarized politics. Is that what they teach in "Political Science" class? …Boring. By the way, calling "Political Science" as "Science" is an insult to "Science."
I don't remember how many times I have heard, "tragic", "terrible", without one mention of the word "terrorism" to describe the actions of the IDF.
Will the subject of the slaughter of women and children in Gaza come up tonight? Will the brutality of the settlers in the West Bank come up? How many times will each utter the word "terrorist" when describing Hamas, with allusions to the Palestinians people not being innocent? Will the monstrous "defense" bill come up? Will escalating in Ukraine which may lead to the end of life for the world's humans? Or, will they dance around, avoiding the obvious, to give the impression of a debate. I for one, am not watching. I would much rather read a good book. I am reading Upton Sinclair's "The Goosestep: A Study of American Education. To understand the power of Israel in American politics, and its influence on the defense department, I recommend watching this podcast on Judging Freedom (pay attention to the comments by Lt. Col. (ret) Kwiatkowski at the 20 minutes mark when asked about the Mossad in the Pentagon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8wDed-eyAU
Right. The bloodlust was only Bibi. /s
On a brighter note, corporations assisting genocide getting spanked:
Norwegian fund drops stake in US construction giant over Palestinian home demolitions
Israel has intensified the illegal expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank over recent months, destroying Palestinian homes, infrastructure, and agricultural land
Norway’s largest private pension fund, Kommunal Landspensjonskasse Gjensidig Forsikringsselska (KLP), has dropped its stake in US construction giant Caterpillar Inc, citing “concerns” the company is contributing to the destruction of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank.
“Although Caterpillar has shown itself willing to engage in a dialogue with KLP, the company’s responses failed to credibly substantiate its ability to actually reduce the risk of violating the rights of individuals in situations of war or conflict, or of violating international law,” Kiran Aziz, the firm’s head of responsible investments, told Bloomberg.
Aziz highlighted that KLP dropped $69 million worth of Caterpillar shares and bonds earlier this month over the Texas-based company’s equipment being used “to demolish Palestinian homes and infrastructure to clear the way for Israeli settlements.”
She also cited allegations that Caterpillar equipment is being used by the Israeli army in Gaza. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights last week named Caterpillar among several corporations supplying Israel with military equipment and urged investors with stakes in these companies to “take action.”
https://thecradle.co/articl…
Thanks, Dread, exactly what I like to hear, hitting the fat-cat bourgeois corporate state where it hurts.
… though, of course, KLM are anti-semites.
"Murder organizations," that's a new one. For us outside of Israel. The media bosses make sure people in the West don't hear the sickest propaganda used by the Israelis.
It is, isn't it. As if an occupied people do not have the right to fight the occupiers.
Only Israelis are not occupiers;they have returned home
Please please, let bibi be right for once!
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/looming-possibility-netanyahu-expects-icc-arrest-warrants-soon/
Sounds good, except Olmert is Netanyahu and Netanyahu is Olmert. I hate to also tell you: Biden is Trump and Trump is Biden.
In America, there is on political/war party: The Uniparty. There may be differences in rhetoric, but the actions are the same.
The op-ed pointed to numerous acts for which Netanyahu should be held responsible. “I accuse the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, of taking deliberate action to prolong the war between Israel and the Palestinian murder organizations,
The way he worded that it could be taken as Israel and the Palestinians are both "murder organization(s)". Now compare the two. One would be like a maniac serial killer who especially likes targeting women and children and the other would be like a battered wife who just couldn't take any more beatings. Not hard to figure which is which. Hint: The maniac serial killer is supplied by the king of maniac seral killers, the US.
With his sanctions, Bill Clinton killed 500,000 Iraqi children. With his complicity, Bidet has killed perhaps 25,000 children, perhaps more as the rubble is cleared. Obama once remarked that he was good at killing, while reviewing his Tuesday "kill list". Drumpf would easily be complicit. Easily. After all, he said that Israel should "finish the job".
Yes,Hamas and Hezbollah respect human rights.
Whatever Hamas and Hezbollah might be charged with, there is no comparison to the coward Israeli babykillers. There is, perhaps fortunately, no force on Earth that remotely approaches the despicableness of the IDF or it must be the Israeli settlers. But then these disgusting cowards operate under IDF cover. Not even the worst of the worst of IS or Boko Haram or any of those equally insane fanatics can hold a candle to their level of psychopathology.
The IDF compares to Hamas and Hezbollah like the SS compares to the Yugoslav Partisans. You need not be a communist to appreciate the immeasurable distance in moral space there.
Whatever Hamas and Hezbollah might be charged with, there is no comparison to the coward Israeli babykillers. There is, perhaps fortunately, no force on Earth that remotely approaches the despicableness of the IDF or it must be the Israeli settlers. But then these disgusting cowards operate under IDF cover. Not even the worst of the worst of IS or Boko Haram or any of those equally insane fanatics can hold a candle to their level of psychopathology.
The IDF compares to Hamas and Hezbollah like the SS compares to the Yugoslav Partisans. You need not be a communist to appreciate the immeasurable distance in moral space there.
Which doesn't make Israel any less of the "maniac serial killers who especially likes targeting women and children" that I described them as. It's odd that you never defend Israel, you just compare them to "designated" terrorist groups. And then you compare them to "designated" terrorist groups who could only aspire to be on Israel's level of terrorism. It's no wonder you're not a paid hasbara troll.
"Betrayal" is the least of Netanyahu's crimes. Why is this guy still walking around free? Assange just spent 12 years in captivity for being an honest journalist (something as rare today as an honest politician). But Netanyahu can murder 40,000 people, and he'll get a warm welcome and standing ovation in Congress.
100 standing ovations. All he has to do is clear his throat and they will spring to their feet and shout "I love big brother".
There's lies, damn lies and statistics. "Israelis" in these numbers also include Arabs. Among Israeli Jews more than 90% support the Gaza attacks, and something like one third of them say they want even more violence.
I believe the polls indicate that 68% of the Israeli Jews wanted more violence.
It’s not just Benjamin Mileikowsky, it's also his supporters that also agrees with him. In truth, these group of radicles are tiring of living and want something bigger in their boring lives.. The human psychology is so infantile sometimes despite of all that evolution. When you have everything, in time you become decedent and fall. The fall becomes your new purpose and you start all over again. Kind of like the cycle of an annual plant.
At last, there is one person who sees clearly in Israel.
Who does not agree with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that Benjamin Netanyahu is keeping Israel in a state of war to the detriment of its people?
It's too bad that Olmert’s critique of Netanyahu does not extent to the killing of thirty thousands+ Palestinians in Gaza.
"Ironclad" is a weird word.
It's used as a synonym for unbreakable, but the 19th century ironclad naval vessels from which the name derives are weak by today's standards.
Just a relatively brittle layer surrounding a fragile wooden ship.
Interesting take! It prompted me to look up the etymology of the word, and apparently prior (though not long prior) to its use as a descriptor for a ship, it was used as a descriptor for a knight.
So now whenever I see someone saying a deal or a relationship is “ironclad,” I’ll have to assume the person means it as “I’m a guy in a funny-looking metal suit coming at you with a sword.”
LOL!
I’m in complete agreement with your article at today’s counterpunch, “Bribery Case Touches SCOTUS In A Tender Spot.”
I think you hit the nail on the head regarding the SC’s motivation for Legalizing more bribery of government officials in the US.
Glad you like it!
Love the article. Hate the decision, which is corruption on parade.
Making taking bribes safe & easy!
IWJWD.
In the new Church of Christ the National, Jesus loves the rich, the warriors, the spies and the grifters.