In a scathing indictment of current Israeli leadership, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has characterized settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as a government-enabled campaign amounting to “violent, murderous war.” Writing in Haaretz newspaper, Olmert rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s characterization of the violence as the work of marginalized youth, instead describing it as a systematic effort toward “ethnic cleansing and mass expulsion.”
The timing of Olmert’s article follows Netanyahu’s recent attempt to downplay the surge in attacks amid increasing international scrutiny, particularly from the United States. According to UN data, October witnessed over 260 settler attacks—the highest monthly tally since record-keeping began in 2006—with more than 3,200 Palestinians forcibly displaced as a result.
Olmert, who himself authorized settlement expansion during his 2006-2009 premiership, asserted that armed settler groups operate with near-total impunity, often under the direct observation of Israeli security forces. He identified the government’s decision to halt administrative detention for Jewish suspects as a pivotal moment that emboldened violent actors, creating what he called a “comprehensive, coordinated and well-financed campaign” supported by political leaders and local authorities.
The former leader specifically rejected the notion that violence stems from fringe elements, stating: “This isn’t the ‘hilltop youth’ or a small group of delinquents… it’s a military, terrorist, violent militia that murders, torches, beats, shoots, and in a systematic, planned and organised manner destroys everything in the territories that isn’t Jewish.”
Olmert further warned of escalating internal political strife, accusing far-right ministers of creating conditions conducive to political assassination. He drew parallels between Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s rhetoric toward Supreme Court President Isaac Amit and the inflammatory language that preceded the 1995 murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Despite Smotrich’s aides claiming his “run him over” comment was metaphorical, Olmert dismissed this as disingenuous, calling it “an invitation to murder, to physical elimination.”
The article portrays a government systematically dismantling institutional checks through intimidation of judicial figures, with Olmert concluding that current leadership has abandoned the rule of law in favor of violent expansionism.