Olmert Says Netanyahu Has No Plan for Gaza Strip Beyond Military Strikes

- Olmert Says Netanyahu Has No Plan for Gaza Strip Beyond Military Strikes
by GIL HOFFMAN, https://www.jpost.com/
Olmert said the government has no organized plan for the Gaza Strip beyond military strikes, which he said would not accomplish anything.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the Gaza Strip faced criticism over the weekend from former prime minister Ehud Olmert and Knesset members from parties in the opposition. Speaking to Channel 10, Olmert said the government has no organized plan for the Gaza Strip beyond military strikes that he said would not accomplish anything.
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“Military strikes will not change the situation, will have no impact and will not help in any way,” Olmert said. “The result of a military operation would be many Israeli and Palestinian deaths. At the end of the operation, after a month or two and many rockets fired at Israeli communities, everything would remain the same.”
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Olmert, who initiated Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip in 2008, complained that Netanyahu criticized him at the time for not being tough enough on Hamas, but now “is not doing anything” in a similar situation.
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The Likud responded that “Olmert, who competes with Ehud Barak for the title of Israel’s worst prime minister, was one of the leaders of the Gaza Strip disengagement that gave Gaza to Hamas and made it into a base for terror that threatens the entire country.” Olmert said he was still glad Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip.
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Zionist Union MK Amir Peretz, who was Olmert’s defense minister, backed him up, saying, “The time has come for the Israeli government to present a new strategic plan that could change the reality between Israel and Gaza.” Zionist Union MK Omer Bar Lev, who commanded the IDF’s General Staff Reconnaissance Unit Sayeret Matkal, warned there could soon be a war neither side wants.
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