Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert says US President Donald Trump should force the Tel Aviv regime to terminate the war in the besieged Gaza Strip, given Washington’s sway over the occupying entity.
Olmert made the comment in an interview with AFP published on Tuesday as he censured the continuation of the Israeli war on Gaza as a "crime" and insisted that the so-called “two-state” solution was the only way to end the protracted Israeli aggression in the blockaded Palestinian territory.
Olmert underlined that the United States has more influence on the Israeli regime “than all the other powers put together,” and that Trump can “make a difference.”
Trump should summon Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House Oval Office and facing cameras, tell the Israeli prime minister, "'Bibi: enough is enough'", Olmert said, using Netanyahu's nickname.
"This is it. I hope he (Trump) will do it ... I don't know if this will happen. We have to hope and we have to encourage him,” he added.
Olmert said the Israeli prime minister had "failed completely" as the regime’s leader by not preventing the October 7, 2023 retaliatory attack by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.
He claimed that the international community accepted what he called Israel's right to self-defense after October 7, but added that the situation changed when Netanyahu spurned chances to end the war in March after the violation of a ceasefire deal and instead ramped up the onslaught on Gazans.
Olmert also criticized Netanyahu for prioritizing his "personal interests" over the Israeli regime's interests.
Despite occasional expressions of concern about the situation in Gaza, the US remains Israel's key ally, using its veto at the UN Security Council and approving billions of dollars in arms sales.
The Israeli military resumed bombardment of Gaza on March 18, killing thousands of Palestinians, and injuring many others, after it shattered the 2-month ceasefire agreement with Hamas and the deal on the exchange of Israeli captives with Palestinian abductees.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 54,927 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and another 126,615 individuals injured in the brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant, citing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the besieged coastal territory.
Press TV’s website
