From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 8, 2024
Olmert accuses Netanyahu of silencing dissenting voices in the security establishment
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Testifying before an independent civil commission of inquiry into the events of October 7, former premier Ehud Olmert accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of silencing dissenting voices within the security establishment, leading senior officials to hold off from informing him of unpleasant facts.
“For 15 years, there has been a concept that any senior security official who says something [critical] becomes a target for slander and censure by the prime minister himself and his entire entourage. An atmosphere was created in which people do not tell [him] the facts and their opinions to avoid sparking fights that would undermine their status and ability to act,” Olmert claims.
Olmert says one of Israel’s security chiefs told him that Netanyahu “discredits and belittles” him and that Olmert had to convince him not to resign.
Olmert also defends his own record as part of the government that implemented the 2005 disengagement from Gaza, stating that contrary to claims that the pullout “exposed us to security risks” and caused terrorism, Hamas was shooting rockets at Israel “even before the disengagement and continued firing after as well.”
However, he does admit to a missed opportunity to defeat Hamas during Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009.
“I ordered the army to prepare a plan through which we would enter the Gaza Strip and establish order there,” he says. “In the first phase, we talked about the occupation of the northern part and an attempt to purge Hamas elements followed by the cleaning up of the [Philadelphi Corridor] and Rafah axis. Those forces in the south would then connect with the troops occupying the northern half of Gaza in order to eliminate the rule of Hamas in the entire Strip.”
However, “what happened is that then-defense minister Ehud Barak thought there was a chance to reach an agreement with Hamas that would allow a ceasefire or a prolonged truce,” he continues.
“I asked the commanding general how long it would take us to capture the Philadelphi Corridor, and he said 48 hours. I asked how long for Rafah was and he said three weeks. I asked how many would be killed and he said 75. At the cabinet meeting, they presented different and more inflated figures.”
“It was clear that there was a situation here a month and a half before elections, with a prime minister who resigned and an entire security establishment who opposed military action,” Olmert says, arguing that he didn’t have the legitimacy to approve the more ambitious plan for occupying Gaza.
