Ehud Olmert

Palestinian and Israeil flags (Activestills)

Israelis, Palestinians are ready to accept international consensus

For the first time since 1967, both the Israeli public and the Palestinians are likely to accept an outline for a final-status agreement based on international law. By Shmuel Lederman A recent poll conducted by the The Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research and the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion on an outline for a…

By +972 Magazine May 6, 2017

Palestinian members of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, take part in military parade marking the second anniversary of the killing of Hamas's military commanders, Mohammed Abu Shamala and Raed al-Attar, August 21, 2016 in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

Israel and Hamas need each other — now more than ever

The fact that Israel has no desire to destroy Hamas and re-occupy Gaza means the next round of fighting will end much like the previous ones: a ‘strategic tie’ with enormous human suffering in both Israel and the Strip. By Doron Matza It is impossible to understand what is happening in the Gaza Strip without understanding the following…

By +972 Magazine March 9, 2017

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivering a statement to the press at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, December 28, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

What happens the ‘day after’ Netanyahu?

Even as the end of Netanyahu’s reign seems to be approaching, it’s no time to celebrate — the problems in Israel run far deeper than one man. Over the past few years, the top echelons of the Jewish Israeli Left have been trying to figure out how to remove or “replace” Prime Minister Netanyahu. Those…

By +972 Magazine January 24, 2017

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File photo of former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert in court. (Photo by Activestills.org)

Why Israel’s former prime minister is going to prison (and why he’s not)

Ehud Olmert this week became Israel’s first former prime minister to head to prison. Here is a simple explanation of why, what legal troubles still await him, and the crimes for which he’ll never pay. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is going to jail — albeit only for 18 months. The Supreme Court shortened…

By Dimi Reider December 30, 2015

"Wall". A small family's hut in Qalqilia where the wall goes through (Hamde Abu Rahma, from the book)

The most important word missing from these elections

If the Left wants to win elections, it cannot continue to hide its true principles. It must speak clearly and openly about the most pressing issue facing Israel: the occupation. By Amir Segal Isaac Herzog will not be Israel’s next prime minister, and Benjamin Netanyahu overwhelmingly won this election. Now is the time when leftists…

By +972 Magazine March 22, 2015

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in front of an Israeli flag (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

This is a war of choice. Netanyahu’s choice

Netanyahu is no hero, and the tragedy is our own. Prime Minister Netanyahu fired Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon on Tuesday, after the latter criticized Netanyahu for holding fire, and even called him “a lefty,” which is probably the worst thing you can say to someone in the current political atmosphere. Sacking Danon is not…

By Noam Sheizaf July 16, 2014

Secretary of State John Kerry waves goodbye. (File photo by State Dept.)

After Kerry, only BDS may save the two-state solution

Not even Ben-Gurion would be able to rally the political support necessary to displace masses of settlers as long as there is no price to be paid for the occupation. So how much longer can liberal Zionists sit and watch the status quo remain static? If instead of trying to persuade Israel to change, two-state…

By Larry Derfner May 19, 2014

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President George W. Bush, and President Mahmoud Abbas at Annapolis, November 27, 2007 (Photo: Gin Kai)

Between bloody wars and peace offers: The end of the road for Ehud Olmert

The former prime minister was sentenced to six years in prison. Olmert will appeal to the Supreme Court, but his return to power seems unlikely. Prior to the last elections, Ehud Olmert was still mulling his return to politics. The long deliberation ended with nothing, as the circumstances didn’t seem right: his trials were still under way,…

By Noam Sheizaf May 13, 2014

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (TzipiLivni/CC BY NC SA 2.0)

Ehud Olmert is going to jail for the wrong crimes

During his premiership, Ehud Olmert was responsible for two of the most horrific military operations of the past decade. More than 1,000 Lebanese, a third of them civilians, and 165 Israelis, a quarter of them civilians, were killed in the Second Lebanon War. In the wake of the war, the IDF developed the Dahiya doctrine,…

By Haggai Matar May 13, 2014

Ehud Olmert in the Tel Aviv District Court on the day of his sentencing. (photo: Activestills.org)

Former Prime Minister Olmert sentenced to six years in prison for bribery

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was sentenced Tuesday morning to six years in prison on bribery charges in the biggest corruption scandal in Israel’s history. Olmert was convicted of accepting bribes in exchange for expediting the permit process for the Holyland real estate development while he was mayor of the city, years before his premiership. The…

By Edo Konrad May 13, 2014

Netanyahu and Abbas in Washington, September 15, 2010 (State Dept. Photo)

‘There was no generous offer’: A history of peace talks

Raviv Drucker, a prominent journalist who co-hosts a well-known television magazine program on Channel 10, wrote a tough blog post in which he takes some of Israel’s best known journalists to task for presenting a completely erroneous interpretation of the Palestinian position regarding a negotiated agreement for a two-state solution. I have translated his post…

By Lisa Goldman April 26, 2014

Illustrative photo by Shutterstock.com

Weekly Notebook: On Bibi’s lies, BDS, reality shows, and more

New feature: A selection of Larry Derfner’s sociopolitical outbursts on Facebook (and one email) for the week ending Saturday, April 5. WHAT HAVE THEY DONE FOR US LATELY? FB reaction to commenter who asks, “What have the Palestinians done to advance peace recently?” (Sunday, March 30): Close, daily security cooperation with the IDF and…

By Larry Derfner April 6, 2014

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (Photo: State Dept.)

According to Tom Friedman: Kerry plan gives Palestinians less than Olmert’s

Tom Friedman writes from Tel Aviv: The “Kerry Plan,” likely to be unveiled soon, is expected to call for an end to the conflict and all claims, following a phased Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank (based on the 1967 lines), with unprecedented security arrangements in the strategic Jordan Valley. The Israeli withdrawal will not…

By Noam Sheizaf January 29, 2014