Netanyahu wants 'war of everyone against everyone': Former Israeli PM
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Netanyahu's government "wants a war in the North to advance its great dream – a war of everyone against everyone, mutual destruction, the expulsion of Palestinians and annexing the territories to Israel."
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony in al-Quds, occupied Palestine, Monday 6, 2024. (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently scrambling to contain backlash both domestically and internationally regarding his policies on the war on Gaza, the ceasefire deal, the situation in the North, and the escalating violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Among his most vocal critics is former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who issued a warning to the Israeli Prime Minister in an opinion piece published by Haaretz on Friday.
Olmert wrote, "I am warning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: The day is drawing near when arrest warrants will be issued against you for the crimes being carried out every day in Judea and Samaria [occupied West Bank] by Israel, with the support of its government, while you intentionally turn a blind eye to it."
'Not a single person with a conscience will be able to defend you'
Taking a swing at Netanyahu, Olmert said that the Israeli prime minister can claim that the situation in Gaza is not the result of specific policies, orders, or intentions from "Israel", or even from him personally, in reference to the impunity given by the US and its allies to "Israel" to justify the killing of over 38,345 people and the reducing of Gaza to rubble.
He then sarcastically added, "In the worst case, as we all know, you are not really managing, leading, or directing. After all, you're not responsible for anything," referring to Netanyahu's ad-hoc policy and blame-shifting.
"But these arguments won't be available to you concerning events in Judea and Samaria. Here crimes are committed on a daily basis, not by soldiers and not against soldiers, but by rioters who are Israeli citizens, Arab haters, with the clear intention of expelling them from their homes and the villages where they have lived all their lives," Olmert explicitly stated.
"As prime minister, you know about all these events. If you choose to ignore them too, you won't be able to deny you heard the warning of the head of the Central Command and other senior IDF commanders," he stressed.
In Olmert's view, when these accusations are leveled against Netanyahu, there will be no one with a conscience, either among Israelis or in the Western countries that support "Israel", who will be able to defend Netanyahu.
Then, the former Israeli prime minister affirmed that arrest warrants would be issued against the prime minister, leaders, cabinet ministers, and commanders individually, but ultimately, it would be "Israel" that faces trial.
"I issue this warning because if we continue to reconcile with crimes against the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria [occupied West Bank], serious and painful sanctions will be levied against Israel, and we won't have a good defense," he said.
'A new phase in the war'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared, on Thursday, a new phase in the war, raising concerns about a potential full-blown war with Lebanon, which the international community has warned could be catastrophic.
Netanyahu's remarks also seem to undermine any prospects for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
As for the escalating situation in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli occupation military discreetly transferred last month substantial legal authority in the occupied West Bank to Israeli extremist groups ganging up under the Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who affirmed that Netanyahu was "full on" with the plan.
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are experiencing an alarming and urgent escalation of Israeli violence. The establishment of an emergency government in "Israel" and the declaration of war have further tightened the occupation's control over the West Bank.
The area is now effectively treated as a closed military zone, facing access restrictions, frequent military raids, widespread arrests of civilians, and increased armament of settlers. This has resulted in rising killing and injury rates, significant displacement of civilians, and thousands of arrests. The situation in the occupied West Bank has never been better, but today it is much worse.
Olmert: Gov. delayed ceasefire in Gaza
On this issue, Olmert said in his opinion piece, "None of them say it explicitly, but I get the impression that the public figures from the believing, settler community that yearns to settle Gaza and Lebanon ..........they will not have any difficulty containing the burning of Palestinian communities and property of completely innocent Palestinians."
Olmert acknowledged that the current far-right Israeli government, along with extremist settlers, delayed a ceasefire in Gaza and intensified actions in the North, with the goal of annexing the entire West Bank and al-Quds.
"Many of them justify the continuation of the fighting in Gaza and call to expand the fighting in the north, so they can continue the work of destruction and obliteration in the West Bank. All of this is on the way to fulfill the greater dream of liberating parts of the Land of Israel and expelling Palestinians, in advance of annexation of all the territories and turning Israel into an apartheid state that will be boycotted and ostracized by the entire world," he stressed.
"This is the dream of thousands of settlers, young people called 'hilltop youth' and many others who support them, push them, cover up for them and hide them. Many of the local leaders in Judea and Samaria pay lip service and are filled with self-righteousness. They ignore the data published by the reliable investigative press (for example, Ronen Bergman and staff of The New York Times) and UN agencies, U.S. State Department and the U.S. National Security Council. 'It's not that bad,' they say. 'Exaggerated', and 'no foundation for the accusations,' the former Israeli prime minister added.
Settlers 'loot, destroy, ruin, burn, and kill innocent people'
The former Israeli prime minister went on to confess that Israeli settlers "attack, loot, destroy, ruin, burn and kill innocent people – and also attack Israeli soldiers who are unwilling to lend a hand to their crimes."
Then, Olmert emphasized that none of these actions could have occurred without the guidance, backing, and support provided by "Israel's" top leaders.
"First and foremost, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the minister of TikTok, who controls the government like a violent bully. And along with him, Bezalel Smotrich, the minister for the territories in the Defense Ministry. Smotrich and Ben-Gvir support the settling of the Gaza Strip and Southern Lebanon by Jewish settlers. In the near future a halakhic authority will be found who will locate in the ancient writings the verse or two that will prove Southern Lebanon has always been part of our holy and historic homeland, and from here it is just a short road to a mass settler movement led by Daniella Weiss," he said.
"For this delusional goal they are encouraging an all-out war in the north," he stressed,
Olmert concluded by affirming that Netanyahu's government "wants a war in the North to advance its great dream – a war of everyone against everyone, mutual destruction, the expulsion of Palestinians and annexing the territories to Israel."
