‘Israel committing war crimes' in Gaza, says ex-PM
LONDON: Israel is 'committing war crimes' in Gaza and 'thousands of innocent Palestinians are being killed,' former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wrote in an opinion piece for Haaretz newspaper.
Olmert, who served as Israel's 12th prime minister from 2006 to 2009, accused the current government of 'waging a war without purpose, without goals or clear planning and with no chances of success.'
He added: 'Never since its establishment has the state of Israel waged such a war … The criminal gang headed by (Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu has set a precedent without equal in Israel's history in this area, too.'
Olmert, a former member of Netanyahu's Likud party, said the 'pointless victims among the Palestinian population' were reaching 'monstrous proportions' in recent weeks.
Israeli military operations in Gaza bear no relevance to 'legitimate war goals,' Olmert added, describing it as a 'private political war' that has transformed the Palestinian enclave into a 'humanitarian disaster area.'
He said he had in the past tried to refute claims that Israel was committing war crimes in Gaza, but 'I've been no longer able to do so. What we are doing in Gaza now is a war of devastation: Indiscriminate, limitless, cruel and criminal killing of civilians.'
He added: 'It's the result of government policy — knowingly, evilly, maliciously, irresponsibly dictated. Yes, Israel is committing war crimes.'
In an interview with the BBC last week, Olmert described the Gaza conflict as 'a war without a purpose — a war without a chance of achieving anything that can save the lives of the hostages.'
His remarks follow similar statements by Yair Golan, a prominent politician and former deputy chief of staff of the Israeli army.
Golan told the Kan national broadcaster last week that 'a sane country does not fight against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not give itself the aim of expelling populations.'
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