Olmert: ‘We are closer to civil war than ever before’

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert strongly warned that Israel is: “Closer to a civil war than ever before.”

Olmert’s remarks come amid escalating internal tensions and deep divisions within Israeli society amid the war on Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to end it and reach a prisoner exchange deal.

In an article in Haaretz newspaper, Olmert expressed: “The assault of a gang of thugs on Israel’s Supreme Court that was fostered, backed and to a large extent organised by the prime minister, is the next phase of a process designed to undermine the very existence of this country’s institutions.”

“The war against these institutions (now labelled the “deep state”) is a vital stage in the well-planned attempt by Benjamin Netanyahu to shatter Israel’s democratic base,” Olmert added.

Olmert’s words come amid ongoing controversy and growing tensions related to the role of the judiciary in the occupying state, particularly regarding the authority of the Supreme Court, the ongoing war on Gaza at the expense of Israeli captives held by the resistance and Netanyahu’s own political gains.

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