I accuse Netanyahu of betrayal says former Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset on 24 June 2024

Ehud Olmert writes in Haaretz on 26 June 2024:

I accuse the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, of taking deliberate action to prolong the war between Israel and the Palestinian murder organizations. The desire to drag out the fighting without specifying an end date is the reason precise objectives have not been set for the combat forces.

I accuse the prime minister of Israel of intent to expand the war and initiate a direct, all-out military confrontation with Hezbollah in the north, instead of reaching, with French and U.S. mediation, an agreement with the Lebanese government that will bring an end to the current violent conflict, and allow tens of thousands of residents of northern Israel who have been displaced by the fighting to return to their homes.

I accuse the prime minister of Israel of taking deliberate actions meant to cause a widespread flare-up of violence in the West Bank, in the knowledge that this would trigger the expansion of war crimes against Palestinians who are not involved in terrorism in any way. Such crimes are already being committed by many Israelis; usually these are not military conscripts but rather private militias made up of thugs carrying guns that in most cases were given to them – in a questionable process that demands legal review – in a move initiated by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. These weapons serve many of them in their riots and protect them when they brutalize Palestinians: burning their property and destroying the fields that are a source of life and sustenance, as well as directly killing innocent people.

I accuse the prime minister of Israel of deliberately abandoning the Israeli hostages who are still being held by Hamas murderers. His refusal to reach an agreement that would allow all the hostages to return to Israel is based on the argument that it would prevent a total victory over Hamas. But total victory is not an option now and it has not been an option from the day the prime minister first presented it. It was meant to be an impossible goal that would allow the prime minister, any time he chooses, to blame the failure to achieve it on the military and the fighting forces in general and on the person who leads it, Lt. Gen. Herzl Halevi, in particular. The chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces bears great responsibility for the horrifying failure of October 7, and with the courage that has characterized all his deeds since he first put on a uniform, he looked into the eyes of the nation of Israel and admitted his responsibility, as well as his duty to draw personal conclusions from this responsibility at the appropriate time.

The prime minister, who through his surrogates, family members and mouthpieces in the various media outlets systematically wages a campaign against the military, security and political leadership that doesn’t snap to attention at every word he says, does not do the obvious, natural thing that is expected of the person who for many years has been the dominant force in setting Israel’s military, security and diplomatic priorities. He disseminates poison, incitement, scorn and an attempt to undermine the confidence of the people of Israel in the commanders who lead the fighting forces, during wartime.

Protesters calling for the release of Israelis held hostage in Gaza, Tel Aviv, 23 April 2024

I accuse the prime minister of Israel of deliberately endangering the lives of the soldiers out of a clear intention of exposing them to dangers that end in the loss of life almost daily. This, due to his refusal to define the goals of the fighting and set timetables for their achievement, or to discuss how the Gaza Strip and the West Bank will be governed when the battles end.

I accuse the prime minister of forming a security cabinet comprised of a rare assortment of people lacking skills, experience or understanding of the very complex system that is supposed to provide innumerable services and handle endless problems. This government clearly favors the personal interests of the ministers and the parties they represent and the interests of population groups known to support the government while ignoring equal distribution of the burden – one of the fundamental principles of any democratic state, especially at a time when a significant part of the population is collapsing under the yoke and the hardship created by the war, while a different part refuses to carry any of the burden. And all this alongside the manipulative and corrupt management of the state’s resources and assets.

The consequence of this miserable motley of cabinet members is an unprecedented collapse of all the services the public needs under normal circumstances, and especially under the very exceptional circumstances we have been in since October 2023. The economy is crashing, public services are crashing, entire areas of the country are deserted and the government has no plan and has made no effort to create a response that could improve the situation and spark a flicker of hope.

I accuse the prime minister of Israel of a deliberate attempt to destroy the sensitive fabric of relations, vital to Israel’s security, with Arab countries that are bound to Israel with peace agreements, primarily Egypt and Jordan. The state displays public disdain for Egypt’s security sensitivities in the Rafah area and the Philadelphi route, despite the knowledge that Cairo is liable to react by damaging the format of relations that has existed between the two countries for decades. These relations are essential infrastructure for safeguarding Israel’s security interests.

reThe disrespect for the Palestinian Authority and the violence perpetrated on Palestinian residents of the West Bank as the security forces turn a blind eye – especially the forces that are directly subordinate to ministers Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich – could trigger a dramatic crisis in relations with Jordan. Such a crisis was already imminent. The government knows this, the prime minister knows this, but they refuse to take the necessary measures to thwart a move that is designed to disrupt the lives of the West Bank’s Palestinian residents, advance the possibility of deporting them and enable the territories’ annexation to Israel, under the inspiration of Ben-Gvir, Smotrich and their supporters.

I accuse the prime minister of Israel of deliberately thwarting the chance to establish a new regional axis based on a partnership between moderate Arab states such as Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and possibly additional Muslim countries beyond the Middle East. A proposal for normalized relations, peace and military and political cooperation between such states and Israel has been on the agenda since the October events. The State of Israel, under the prime minister’s inspiration, guidance and leadership, foiled any possibility of reaching such an arrangement, despite its far-reaching strategic significance for the country’s security and its ability to contend with the Iranian threat.

I accuse the prime minister of Israel of a deliberate attempt to destroy the political-security-military alliance between Israel and the United States. The strategic aspect of Israel-U.S. relations did not begin with the establishment of the state. It was built in a long, protracted process that took a turn after the Six-Day War. Since then, the United States became Israel’s partner, ally and supporter, providing aid and equipment at a scale and intensity that have no precedent in our short history and are also exceptions to the pattern of America’s relations with other states in recent generations.

For many years, Israel’s political stability in the international arena rested on the absolute support of the United States. In 1973, at the height of the Yom Kippur War, it was America that sent us aid in an airlift that many people believe made it possible to end the war in what Israel termed an overwhelming victory at the time. Ever since, the United States has provided Israel with billions of dollars in aid every year. The entire Israel Air Force relies completely on American aircraft: fighter planes, transport planes, refueler planes and helicopters. All of Israel’s air power is based on the American commitment to defend Israel. We have no other reliable source for essential supplies of equipment, munitions and advanced weapons that Israel cannot manufacture on its own. In recent months, hundreds of American transport planes have landed at IAF bases carrying thousands of tons of advanced, vital military equipment and munitions.

The accusations the prime minister hurled at the Americans, according to which they are delaying the delivery of military supplies and therefore Israel’s total victory is being delayed, are nothing more than irresponsible provocation. Throughout this war, U.S. President Joe Biden has demonstrated his unlimited commitment to Israel and its security. Even in regard to the hostages one can see the enormous difference between the Israeli prime minister and the American president. While the former uses tactics of incitement, provocation, contempt and dismissal against hostages’ and victims’ family members who disagree with his decisions – even though these are members of his own people, for whose plight he is responsible – Biden has embraced them all with love, and demonstrated the dedication and emotion of a true friend like no other.

In the days when Israel faced concrete danger from Iran, American aircraft carriers roamed the waters of the Middle East. When Iranian missiles were fired from the area of Yemen, they were neutralized by U.S. forces. When Iran decided to respond to the assassination in Syria of a member of the Revolutionary Guards (even though Israel has never claimed responsibility for the action), America and, as a result, also Britain, France and Arab states stood at the forefront of Israel’s defense. Congress approved a multibillion-dollar aid package for Israel, in addition to annual aid approaching $4 billion. There is no precedent for this in scope, force and impact on the battlefield since the establishment of the state.

Netanyahu is now trying to shatter this entire complex system. His displays of braggadocio and arrogance on television, in which he berates the president of the United States and his actions, are a master performance of irresponsibility, losing one’s cool and contempt for Israel’s most basic needs, and a calculated attempt to sabotage Biden’s reelection campaign.

For each of these accusations, Netanyahu must stand trial in the court of the people of Israel. This must not be delayed. Every additional day that this cursed man continues to bear nominal responsibility for the running of the state is a day that poses a concrete danger to its future and its existence.

Netanyahu does not want the war to end, he does not want the hostages to return home alive and he does not want an arrangement in the north that will return residents to their homes. He does not want to stop the mistreatment and killing of Palestinian residents of Judea and Samaria. Netanyahu wants a war that never ends while weakening Israel’s relationships with its neighbors and with the United States.

Netanyahu wants to destroy Israel, nothing less. The time has come to expel him.

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