Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has launched sharp criticism at Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over its handling of the Gaza war, urging a sweeping regional solution that includes recognition of a Palestinian state.
In an interview with MBN, Olmert argued that Israel must have taken bold steps, including opening discreet backchannel talks with Iran and Lebanon, and pursuing a post–October 7 Gaza deal that could have altered the course of the conflict.
Olmert, who served as prime minister from 2006 to 2009, has emerged as one of Netanyahu’s most outspoken critics. In recent months, he has repeatedly questioned the government’s strategy, warning that without decisive diplomatic action, Israel risks deepening its isolation and entrenching perpetual conflict.
The Gaza War
When asked what the Netanyahu government has gotten right in its conduct of the war in Gaza since October 7, 2023, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was blunt: “Almost nothing.”
He explained that in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attack, his approach would have been entirely different. “I would have tried to see, after the first two or three days when there was still an attempt to rescue people in the south — when the terrorists were still dispersed in the Gaza region and the settlements — I would have asked the Qataris if there was an option for a deal to bring back immediately all the hostages for a commitment not to respond.”
Such a move, Olmert argued, “would have created a different atmosphere in the state of Israel from then on … all the riots, demonstrations, confrontations, polarization, hatred, and intolerance from all sides — we would have avoided it. We would have had the hostages at home, and we would have gone through a certain healing process within Israel, considering the sense of failure and the insult of being exposed to such a failure.”
In his view, this strategy would have preserved the option for Israel to strike Hamas later. “At any time in the future, we could have planned a surprise attack based on provocations which Hamas would definitely fall into. It could have been entirely different.”
Palestine: A Regional Solution
Olmert described the Abraham Accords as “a very important first step,” but said they must be part of a broader vision. “We have to build it up on a strategic move, the end of which is new normalization with the Saudis and with other Arab and Muslim countries — the Indonesians, and also North African countries like Algeria, Libya, Sudan, and others.”
He called for “a strategic move that will change the balance in the entire Middle East, that will change Israel’s status vis-à-vis Arab and Muslim countries — enormously significant and important — to put the Palestinian issue as part of a much broader and more historic process.”
For Olmert, the benefits of such a deal would be transformational: “It would create an entirely different attitude of acceptance, respect for Israel, friendlier interaction, and cooperation between us and many other countries. Presented in this context, it’s not just about giving up some territorial concessions to the Palestinians — it’s about something much broader and more significant for Israel.”
The Superpowers
“You have to have the assistance, of course, of the Americans,” Olmert said, envisioning a coordinated diplomatic effort that could also involve other global powers. “If properly orchestrated and coordinated, it can give a very good basis for cooperation between America, Russia, China, and Europe in service of such a move. I think the Chinese and even the Russians may have an interest in something that stabilizes the Middle East, that spares the superpowers an unnecessary additional front of confrontation.”
He argued that this approach could reframe Israel’s position: “For Israel, it is an opportunity to pull out from a corner that we are stuck in today into something entirely different — something that could provide a positive incentive even for Israelis who, looking at it narrowly vis-à-vis the Palestinians, say: ‘Oh, no, we don’t want to do anything with these guys. They kill us, they murder us.’”
Recognizing a Palestinian State
Olmert insisted that the key to breaking the deadlock is a bold shift in policy toward the Palestinians. “The one thing Israel has to do — which I did, and found very productive and important — is to say: I’m prepared to recognize a Palestinian state. I’m ready to pull out from territories. We have to separate from the Palestinians, but not separate without respect — separate out of respect, with pains and difficulties for us, but with respect for their fundamental human and civil rights: self-determination and so on.”
Without such political will, he warned, “nothing will move. Not only that, but we will deteriorate — into continuous confrontation, new fronts of conflict, and the loss of healthy and truthful contacts with the international community, which we are already losing.”
For Olmert, the courage to make this declaration could change everything: “If we have the courage, wisdom, and inspiration to say, ‘Yes, this is what we want,’ the world will be different. Had I been the Israeli Prime Minister now, I would have told [US Special Envoy] Steve Witkoff or [former President Donald] Trump: ‘Go talk to the Iranians. The time has come for us and them to sit somewhere quiet behind the scenes and work out a certain rapprochement.’ But I’m not the Prime Minister. Bibi [Netanyahu] is the Prime Minister.”
Andres Ilves
Andres Ilves is Senior Director for Strategic Initiatives at MBN. His career as a journalist and writer includes two decades at the BBC and Radio Free Europe.
