Ehud Olmert backs Eisenkot, says Netanyahu is 'on wrong side of history'

"Whether people voted for Bennett or Eisenkot or Lapid or Golan, the differences are not insignificant, but they are all on the right side of history, while Netanyahu is on the wrong side of history,” Olmert said, referring to opposition leaders.

"What I think distinguishes Gadi Eisenkot from all of them is that I think he's more mature, he's more ready. And also, I think, the fact that he's more popular than all of them."

Olmert described the upcoming vote as potentially historic.

“These are certainly perhaps the most consequential elections in the modern history of the Jewish people in the State of Israel,” he said.

He emphasized that Israeli voters are fighting to protect the country's democracy and the standing of the Supreme Court.

Addressing Netanyahu's position in the polls, Olmert predicted a substantial decline in the prime minister's political support.

“It is already reflected in the polls that show Netanyahu is going to lose between one-third and 40% of his present political power, which is absolutely considerable.”

Accompanying the image, Netanyahu warned that Israel faced an existential threat from Iran and that the country's security depended on the outcome of the 2026 election.

In the interview, Olmert described it as a "sign of desperation and of total loss of the real, genuine ability to judge the political circumstances."

He accused Netanyahu of creating an “atmosphere of panic and hysteria and fear and imminent danger to the very existence of the state of Israel. This is what dictators are normally doing at a time when they are on the verge of complete destruction politically."

Turning to Iran's nuclear program, Olmert also accused Netanyahu of making false claims about the destruction of Iran's nuclear capabilities.

“He said, ‘We obliterated everything.’ And he even said something which is an outright lie, absolute nonsense, that at the time that we attacked Iran in June of 2025 or in February/March of 2026, they had a few atomic bombs which we have obliterated," Olmert alleged.

The former prime minister continued, "We know that they didn't have atomic bombs. We know that what they had, which is bad enough, is enriched to a level of 60% that is stored somewhere underground in boxes, but they never had a bomb, they never possessed a bomb, and we never destroyed a bomb."

Despite his criticism of Netanyahu, Olmert later on emphasized Israel's military achievements in the Middle East.

“In spite of the surprise and the failures of the defense system on October 7, we still defeated Hezbollah in the north, Hamas in the south, and Iran, which is an empire, a hugely powerful nation.”

On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Olmert called for Israel to take the risk of advancing a two-state solution, which he described as the “best possible solution for the State of Israel."

He also held Netanyahu responsible for the policies that preceded the Hamas-led October 7 massacre.

“He is the one who developed this strategy. He is the one who refused to negotiate or to deal with the Palestinian Authority and preferred to build up some kind of understanding with Hamas."

"I have a message to the leadership of the State of Israel and to the commanders of the Israeli army and the Israeli police: If you will not take care of the Jewish terror in the West Bank, you will be held legally responsible for the crimes which are committed there… possibly also in the International Criminal Court."

Olmert concluded with a message to Israeli voters ahead of the elections, urging them to support political change.

"We have to change, and we can change. And the change will be a step forward for the State of Israel, for the Palestinian people, for the region, and for the Jewish people across the world."