Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Friday blasted Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his family, predicted that Netanyahu will not be Prime Minister nor head the Likud after the March 2 election, and also declared that he would be voting for the Blue and White party.
"There is a gang running the country. It is very serious, but this is the reality. There is an atmosphere that everything is permitted and that there is no limit. Things have deteriorated to the lowest levels. This family is acting like a crime family," Olmert told Channel 12’s Ofira Asayag and Eyal Berkovic, in a reference to the Netanyahu family.
"I do not want to go into the legal issues. [Netanyahu] will stand trial. The trial will go the way it is supposed to go. I stood trial and I am convinced that the decision in my case was wrong but I said ‘no citizen is above the law.’ I said that even though I am convinced I was wronged," added Olmert.
"I say the things that anyone can see. It is simply a phenomenon that is impossible to take and the State of Israel will not bear it. I tell you here and now when you are recording this - Bibi Netanyahu will not be Prime Minister," he stated.
Asked about the fact that, despite everything, there are still a million and a half Israelis who vote for Netanyahu, the former Prime Minister replied, "The result is clear, let there be no doubt about it - Bibi will not form a government and he will not lead the Likud after these elections. Wait and see.”
Asayag and Berkovic told Olmert that the Hezbollah terrorist organization is gaining strength, to which he replied, "Hezbollah has not fired a single bullet in 13 and a half years. You know why? Because 13 and a half years ago, when Bibi Netanyahu organized demonstrations against the Prime Minister because of the Second Lebanon War, they were bleeding. They have been bleeding ever since."
“This is holding because of the blow they were dealt at the time which was a deadly blow. The lesson they learned is that they shouldn't start something that could trigger a reaction," added Olmert, who served as Prime Minister during the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
Asked why he thinks Israel is unable to deter Hamas like it did Hezbollah, he said, "Unfortunately, the State of Israel has no preparations for proper treatment of Gaza. There are terrorists there to fight, but also close to two million civilians. How do we want two million civilians who get up in the morning, who have children they want to go to school and eat well, feel sympathetic to our side? They have four hours of electricity a day because we prevent electricity from them, have no water and no food. We don't understand that this distinction needs to be made. Create positive motivation for these people and help them."
Olmert reiterated that he supports the Blue and White party, saying, "I really want Blue and White to win the election and I believe it will win. I will do everything I can in my public appearances, my interviews and the articles I write to help it succeed. I do not expect a revolution to take place from one day to the next. I expect this country to return to normalcy, that public discourse will be different, that people who serve the country won’t be called traitors, that the Arab citizens who are part of the State of Israel will be respected and integrated into society. All of this is not happening because the Israeli government is not prepared to do this since it is busy with one thing. You know what that is."
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
