This article first appeared on our partner site, Independent Arabia
Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, who initially backed the war in Gaza as an “inevitable” response to the October 7 attacks, describes plans to take over the whole strip as a “historic disaster”.
In an exclusive interview with Independent Arabia, Olmert, who served as Israel’s prime minister from 2006 to 2009, states that the war which is entering its second year has achieved all of its objectives and its continuation runs “counter to Israel’s interests” and serves only the “personal interests” of the country’s current leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to Olmert, Netanyahu is determined to keep the war going, and to further escalate it, in order to avoid the political fallout that an end to the war would bring. The former premier believes this would likely include the formation of a commission of inquiry into security failures surrounding the October 7 attack, and see the collapse of Netanyahu’s government, which is propped up by what Olmert calls the “messianic faction” led by Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. The far-right ministers were both recently banned from entering the UK for “repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities”.
Olmert claims this political bloc is singularly focused on waging war and destruction on Gaza and the West Bank, aiming to reoccupy the Gaza Strip, expel its Palestinian residents, and hand it over to Israeli settlers.
“The majority of Israelis reject this agenda”, Olmert insists, “We are doing everything we can to stop these plans, because they would lead to a historic disaster.”
An unjustified war
According to Olmert, the war that began in 2023 was initially launched as a response to “Hamas’s brutal attack on civilians, in which 1,200 people were killed in their homes and bedrooms.” At the time, he says, Israel enjoyed overwhelming support and broad international backing.
However, Olmert later became opposed to the continuation of the war, arguing that Israel had already “achieved everything that could reasonably be achieved”, including killing key Hamas leaders such as Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh, along with the majority of the group’s senior and mid-level commanders, as well as the destruction of most of its rockets and command infrastructure.
“What’s happening now is no longer necessary,” he says, noting the large numbers of both Israeli military casualties and the estimated death toll of over 60,000 Palestinians. “What is needed now is to end the violence and bring the hostages home – and the only way to do that is by ending the war, not expanding it – especially as international opposition continues to grow.”
Olmert adds that “most former Israeli military and security officials have called for an immediate halt to the war, as there are no further military objectives left to achieve. Continuing this war in the face of mounting civilian deaths on both sides is a crime that cannot be ignored”.
He believes the war should have ended in March, criticising Netanyahu for withdrawing from a ceasefire deal at that time rather than pursuing negotiations for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages. “At that point,” Olmert says, “the war became illegitimate.”
Both Hamas and Netanyahu to blame
When asked who bears responsibility for the failure of current ceasefire negotiations, Olmert declined to give a direct answer. “Don’t expect me to side with Hamas,” he says. “It is a brutal and murderous organisation. But Netanyahu is a deceitful prime minister – so both are guilty, each in their own way.”
Olmert explained that reaching an agreement “is actually quite simple – it all depends on how you choose to see things. Israel wants to retrieve the hostages and continue the war, which Hamas refuses – so from the Israeli perspective, Hamas is obstructing the talks.”
On the other hand, he adds, Hamas appears willing to release the hostages and end the war, something Israel now rejects, “which is why, from Hamas’s view, it is Israel that is responsible for the failure”.
As for what would happen after the war finishes, Olmert says Israel has no clear vision with the exception of Ben Gvir and Smotrich, who clearly advocate reoccupation, expulsion of Palestinians, and expanding settlements in Gaza.
Olmert insists that the Palestinian Authority remains “the only possible partner for a peace agreement,” despite its weaknesses and the need for internal reform. “Netanyahu has rejected the PA [Palestinian Authority] for 15 years. He prefers to empower Hamas rather than negotiate with the legitimate Palestinian leadership. That’s one of the main reasons we are stuck in this ongoing tragedy – the other being Hamas itself, with its murderous ideology.”
While Olmert acknowledges that the Israeli military has committed “war crimes” in Gaza, he describes them as “unintentional failures of discipline or judgment, not official policy. Still, they are grave and perhaps unforgivable”.
He accuses Hamas of pursuing a strategy “designed to kill as many civilians as possible, driven by hatred and intolerance,” but warned that the continued military campaign could deepen Israel’s international isolation. “A widespread boycott is coming,” he says, “and it could spread across the world. The only way to stop it is to change course and end the war.”
The decision lies with the White House
Olmert believes that US President Donald Trump is “the only person capable of pressuring Netanyahu to end the war,” suggesting that all it would take is for Trump to summon him “to his favourite place – the White House – and tell him in front of the cameras: ‘You need to stop the war now.’”
Citing a recent example, the former premier pointed to an incident on the first day of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel when Israeli fighter jets reportedly en route to strike Iranian targets turned back after Trump issued a direct order to stand down.
Olmert describes Trump as “Netanyahu’s only true friend,” adding that while former President Joe Biden was “a staunch Zionist and a great friend of Israel, he may not have been a friend to Netanyahu personally.”
Currently, Olmert is working with former Fatah official Nasser Al-Qudwa on an initiative promoting the two-state solution as “the only viable path to resolving the Israeli-Arab conflict”. Fatah is the political party in charge of the Palestinian Authority, and partially governs Palestinian communities in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
According to Olmert, this project is based on a peace proposal he presented to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in 2009, an offer he describes as “a comprehensive and final agreement unlike any previously proposed by an Israeli leader”.
He recalls warning Abbas at the time: “Don’t miss this opportunity – it won’t come again for another 20 years.” Olmert noted that Abbas never gave a clear answer, “He didn’t say no, but he also didn’t say yes.”
According to Olmert, “Abbas failed to sign an agreement that could have changed the history of the Middle East and the lives of millions – a failure that is unforgivable.”
Olmert explained that he presented “a detailed and comprehensive map outlining everything, proposing the establishment of a Palestinian state over more than 95 per cent of the territories based on the 1967 borders, with land swaps agreed upon with Israel”.
His initiative envisioned the Arab part of Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, while the Old City, home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Western Wall, would be placed under the joint administration of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, and the United States.
At the time, Olmert refused to hand the map directly to Abbas for review, instead asking him to bring a team of experts the following day to study it. Olmert explained his caution by saying, “I didn’t want him to take the map and disappear for years, then claim this was the offer made by the Israeli prime minister and start negotiations from there.”
Earlier this year, Mahmoud Abbas denied missing “the opportunity to sign a peace map presented by Olmert”, stating that he “never received any peace map from him during the talks, which lasted until the last day of his premiership”.
According to an official statement published by the Palestinian News Agency, Abbas stated that “the talks with Olmert were serious and covered all final issues, but Olmert was not allowed to remain in office long enough to follow up on what was discussed, and during these talks, we never received any map or document to respond to”.
Reviewed by Tooba Khokhar
