ATHENS: Ahead of Israel’s elections, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has called for Benjamin Netanyahu to be removed from office, accusing him of betraying Israel’s national interests and urging a return to negotiations for a two-state solution.
Speaking on the “Arab Views” podcast in Athens, Olmert said he hoped the vote would end Netanyahu’s tenure, arguing that a change of government was essential to reversing Israel’s political direction and restoring prospects for peace with the Palestinians.
“Netanyahu has to go, because he has betrayed the real interests of the State of Israel,” Olmert told Editor-in-Chief and host Faisal J. Abbas, criticizing the prime minister for pursuing a policy of containing Hamas while sidelining the Palestinian Authority.
He accused Netanyahu of believing he could “buy Hamas” through employment opportunities for Gazans and Qatari financial support, while avoiding negotiations with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that would require territorial concessions.
Olmert said the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack had exposed the failure of that approach. He also called for an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the assault, saying it should be the first decision of a new Knesset if a majority of lawmakers opposed Netanyahu.
Despite widespread Israeli opposition to Palestinian statehood following the attack and the ensuing war in Gaza, Olmert insisted that a two-state solution remained the only viable way to resolve the conflict.
“The only possible solution … can happen only if the Palestinians will have a right, will have an option to exercise their right for self-determination,” he said, adding that Palestinians must be able to establish an independent, sovereign state alongside Israel.
He acknowledged that rebuilding Israeli public support would be difficult, arguing that the trauma of Oct. 7 had hardened attitudes. A new government with a different political rhetoric could, however, begin a process of healing, he said.