“He built Hamas”
Former Prime Minister Olmert predicts Netanyahu’s downfall
January 22, 2024, 9:46 p.m
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During his term in office, Israel’s former Prime Minister Olmert proposed a comprehensive two-state solution and failed because of the Palestinians’ no vote. Now he wants to build on the plan from back then. He accuses Netanyahu’s successor of strengthening Hamas in order to avoid peace negotiations.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has accused his successor Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately strengthening Hamas. “The continuous and consistent development of Hamas was a calculated strategy by Netanyahu,” said Olmert in an interview with “Spiegel”.
During his term in office from 2006 to 2009, he himself rejected the release of top Palestinian terrorists in exchange for Israeli hostages, while Netanyahu released around a thousand Palestinian prisoners in 2011, including the current leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. “Now Netanyahu calls him a Nazi, but back then he released him and helped make him the leader of Hamas,” Olmert told the magazine.
Olmert added that the security services had repeatedly offered Netanyahu to eliminate Sinwar in recent years. “But Bibi didn’t want that.” The reason, according to Olmert, was that “the alternative would have been to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority.”
“Anger will erupt like a volcano”
Olmert predicted an imminent political end for Netanyahu. “The bitterness and disappointment will build up into anger that will erupt like a volcano.” Instead of Netanyahu, Israel needs a political leader who is willing to make himself unpopular, said Olmert. “You can’t change history without running the risk of making yourself unpopular.”
In order to solve the Middle East conflict, Israel’s former prime minister suggested sending American and European soldiers to the Gaza Strip. “We need the Europeans and the Americans to send a transitional military force to Gaza because the Arabs and the Palestinians will not come and we, Israel, should not stay there,” the 78-year-old continued.
In order to convince the Americans and Europeans, Israel must show a political horizon. “Immediately after the military action, we should start negotiating a two-state solution.” During his time in power, Olmert proposed a far-reaching plan for a two-state solution to the then-ruling President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas had rejected him then.