Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert penned an op-ed in Haaretz on Tuesday that, among other things, accused Tel Aviv of systematically carrying out war crimes in the Gaza Strip. He called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “crime boss” fighting a “private political war.” He also warned of the risks of escalation in the occupied West Bank where some illegal settlers are calling for “genocide.” Olmert was the prime minister of Israel between 2006-2009. At the end of his term, he launched a brutal war on Gaza dubbed Operation Cast Lead.

Olmert opens by declaring “The government of Israel is currently waging a war without purpose, without goals or clear planning and with no chances of success.” This dovetails with numerous statements and intelligence estimates from Washington which have warned since the early stages of Tel Aviv’s genocidal campaign that, although massive numbers of civilians were being slaughtered, Hamas’ ranks were increasing or only minimally decreasing.

The former prime minister then takes aim at the IDF’s newly launched ground offensive in Gaza, after more than two months of a full siege strangling and starving the Palestinians, systematically depriving them of food, water, fuel, medicine, and electricity. “The obvious result of Operation Gideon’s Chariots is, first and foremost, the confused activity of Israeli military units deployed around Gaza. This is true particularly in neighborhoods where our soldiers have already fought, were hurt and fell while killing many Hamas combatants, who deserve to die, and many more innocent civilians. These have joined the statistics of pointless victims among the Palestinian population, reaching monstrous proportions,” Olmert laments.

Even the Palestinian Health Ministry’s conservative estimate of the death toll in Gaza – which only accounts for the deceased victims taken to the remaining hospitals and mourges – is over 60,000. Additionally, over 111,000 Palestinian men, women, and children have been wounded.

Olmert then discusses the “humanitarian disaster area” that is current day Gaza under incessant bombardment with marauding IDF soldiers carrying out “illegitimate” operations. “Recent operations in Gaza have nothing to do with legitimate war goals. The government sends our soldiers – and the military obeys – to wander around Gaza City, Jabalya and Khan Yunis neighborhoods in an illegitimate military operation. This is now a private political war. Its immediate result is the transformation of Gaza into a humanitarian disaster area.”

The most recent data released by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification admonished that the entire population of Gaza, some 2.1 million people, are at “critical risk of famine.” The report showed that one in five people in Gaza – 500,000 – are facing starvation. The World Health Organization has documented dozens of children dying of malnutrition since last March when the full blockade was resumed.

Olmert describes how until now and throughout the bulk of the genocidal campaign, he has attempted to rebuke accusations of systemic war crimes in Gaza by arguing there were no orders from the top of the military or government to kill large numbers of Palestinian civilians indiscriminately. However, before outlining why his point of view has now changed, he concedes “this war should have ended by early 2024. It continued without justification, without any clear goal and with no political vision for the future of Gaza and the Middle East in general.”

Referring to the International Criminal Court’s charges of war crimes against Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Olmert details his previous position. “Genocide and war crimes are legal terms that very much refer to the intent and responsibility of the people authorized to formulate the war’s objectives, its conduct and its purpose, the boundaries of fighting and the limitations on the use of force. I took every available opportunity to distinguish between the crimes we have been accused of, which I refused to admit, and the carelessness and indifference regarding Gazan victims and the unbearable human cost we’ve been levying there. The first accusation I rejected, the second I admitted to,” he writes.

Olmert then admits top Israeli officials are knowingly carrying out what he characterizes as evil and malicious war crimes. “In recent weeks I’ve been no longer able to do so. What we are doing in Gaza now is a war of devastation: indiscriminate, limitless, cruel and criminal killing of civilians. We’re not doing this due to loss of control in any specific sector, not due to some disproportionate outburst by some soldiers in some unit. Rather, it’s the result of government policy – knowingly, evilly, maliciously, irresponsibly dictated. Yes, Israel is committing war crimes.”

He takes aim at Netanyahu’s starvation and extermination campaign against the Palestinians. “First, starving out Gaza. On this issue, the position of senior government figures is public and clear. Yes, we’ve been denying Gazans food, medicine and basic living needs as part of an explicit policy. Netanyahu, typically, is trying to blur the type of orders he’s been giving, in order to evade legal and criminal responsibility in due course. But some of his lackeys are saying so outright, in public, even with pride: Yes, we will starve out Gaza. Because all Gazans are Hamas, there’s no moral or operational limitation on exterminating them all, over two million people.”

Olmert then explains the wholesale dysfunction pervading Israeli society. He decries how much of the media in Israel is providing its audience a sanitized version of the bloody reality in Gaza while Israeli officials chalk up the international outcry over the genocide of the Palestinians as pure antisemitism.

“Israeli media outlets, each for its own reasons (some understandable) are trying to present a moderate version of events in Gaza. But the picture displayed around the world is much broader, much more devastating. It’s impossible to view it with equanimity and a nod, as if the world’s reaction is merely a widespread outburst of antisemitism, because everybody hates us and they’re all antisemites. Well, no… They’ve been hearing the voices from Gaza. They see the suffering of hundreds of thousands of civilians. They’ve been hearing the voices from Israeli cabinet meetings and realize the obvious: Israeli cabinet ministers, headed by crime boss Netanyahu, are actively, unhesitatingly and with malice aforethought are pursuing a policy of starvation and humanitarian pressure, with potentially catastrophic results,” Olmert writes.

Olmert then begins warning about the potentially dire consequences Israel will face if it continues its policies of extermination in Gaza, leading to war crimes tribunals, as well as political and economic isolation from the rest of the world. “Voices are already rising from Israel-friendly governments such as Canada, the U.K. and France, calling for concrete measures against the government, though these could cause grievous harm to Israel. Macron suggested a review of the association agreement between Israel and the European Union, a suggestion seconded by the prime ministers of Spain, the Netherlands and Italy. These latter two, unlike Macron, are both right-wing leaders, and until recently had declined any move that could have embarrassed Israel.”

Olmert continues, “These voices will grow. There’s a risk that tangible punishment will be directed at Israel beyond steps by the International Criminal Court at The Hague, with lethal financial and diplomatic results. The Netanyahu government’s choir of thugs and the poison machine it has been operating will immediately decry typical victimization: the Gentiles are antisemites. They hate us. They’ve always been against us. They support terrorism – while we fight terrorism. In truth, these governments aren’t anti-Israeli, they oppose the Israeli government. They believe the government has declared war on the state of Israel and its inhabitants, and it may have caused irreversible damage. I concur. I believe the government of Israel is now the enemy from within. It has declared war on the state and its inhabitants. No external foe we’ve fought against over the past 77 years has caused greater damage to Israel than what the Itamar Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu and Bezalel Smotrich-led government has inflicted on us.”

The former Israeli leader then turns to the brutal violence unleashed against Palestinians in the West Bank since October 2023, where approximately 900 Palestinians have been killed by the IDF and illegal settlers including nearly 200 children. “And while all this mess is going on, we keep on slaughtering Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, too. I have said so before, and I will not go back on my word. Members of the horrible hilltop youth are daily perpetrating heinous crimes all over the West Bank, while the police and military units deployed in the area are turning a blind eye.”

For years, the “Hilltop Youth” have been some of the most radical settlers rampaging throughout the West Bank, stealing Palestinian land, attacking and killing innocents including some as young as infants. In recent years, members of the group have been inducted into an IDF unit called ‘Desert Frontier‘ carrying out attacks against Palestinians living the West Bank.

Olmert warns that settler leaders are now calling for “genocide” against Palestinians in the West Bank. “The statement by head of the Samaria Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, saying that Palestinian villages must be destroyed, is a declaration of genocide. When a Palestinian village burns down, and quite a few already have, they’ll tell us that the perpetrators are a small, violent group that does not represent settlers. This is a lie. They are many. The vanguard is always smaller. Behind it are the Yossi Dagans who are inspiring them, helping them to avoid exposure and preparing the next wave of rioters. Where is the police? Where is the military? Where are the tens of thousands of settlers who ought to say that these horrifying hilltop youths are criminals who should be sent to prison rather than wandering around olive orchards belonging to West Bank residents.”

Pointing to the footage proliferating on Israeli social media since the IDF invaded Gaza, Olmert condemns the daily execution of civilians, as well as the looting and destruction of Palestinians’ homes. “Nor is it possible to ignore what has been happening in some Israeli military units, including special forces, where the best and most daring soldiers serve. There have been too many incidents of cruel shooting at civilians, of destruction of property and homes, even when this should not happen. There is too much looting and theft from homes, about which in many cases Israeli soldiers have boasted. Some have gone as far as posting about their antics online. Israelis are committing war crimes,” Olmert asserts.

The former prime minister stops short of admitting that the IDF is actively carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing before cautioning “we are nearing the point when it will be undeniable that such is the unavoidable result of what the government, the military and our brave soldiers have been doing in practice. It is time to halt, before we are all banished from the family of nations and are summoned to the International Criminal Court for war crimes, with no good defense. Enough is enough.”