Israel commits war crimes: Ex-premier

Israel is committing daily war crimes in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.

“War crimes are not being committed in Gaza alone. They are committed daily in the West Bank by Israelis, without intervention from the police or the army – or they turn a blind eye,” he added.

“Anyone who calls for burning villages is calling for genocide,” Olmert said.

In an interview with Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, Olmert condemned remarks by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who called for the Palestinian village of Huwara in the northern West Bank to be burned.

Olmert, who served as prime minister from 2006 to 2009, also criticized Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, describing it as a “political war without purpose” that would fail to bring home any hostages and would only lead to further loss of Israeli soldiers’ lives.

In Gaza, Israel has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since October 2023.

The International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal last July and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.