Olmert Says Netanyahu Is 'on the Wrong Side of History' as Israel Votes

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "on the wrong side of history" as Israel holds its 2026 elections. He made the remarks in an interview with Al-Arabiya English on Tuesday.

Olmert said the opposition leaders, including Naftali Bennett, Gadi Eisenkot, Yair Lapid and Yair Golan, differ from one another in ways that are "not insignificant." In his view, however, they all stand on the right side of history, while Netanyahu does not.

He endorsed Eisenkot and his Yashar Party, saying Eisenkot is "more mature" and "more ready" than his rivals, and also more popular than all of them. Olmert called the vote potentially "the most consequential elections in the modern history of the Jewish people in the State of Israel." He said voters are fighting to protect Israeli democracy and the standing of the Supreme Court.

On Netanyahu's electoral prospects, Olmert pointed to polling. "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," he said.

Olmert also criticized a recent social media post in which Netanyahu shared an AI-generated image of a nuclear explosion over Tel Aviv, two days before the October 27 election. Netanyahu had written that Israel faced an existential threat from Iran and that national security depended on the election result. Olmert called the post a "sign of desperation and of total loss of the real, genuine ability to judge the political circumstances." He accused Netanyahu of fostering an "atmosphere of panic and hysteria and fear," and said dictators typically behave this way when they are "on the verge of complete destruction politically."

The former prime minister also disputed Netanyahu's claims about Iran's nuclear program. He called it "an outright lie" to say that Iran had several atomic bombs when Israel attacked in June 2025 or in February and March of 2026. According to Olmert, Iran had material enriched to 60% and stored underground in boxes, which he called bad enough, but it "never possessed a bomb, and we never destroyed a bomb."

Olmert did not limit himself to criticism. He said that despite the surprise and the failures of the defense system on October 7, Israel "still defeated Hezbollah in the north, Hamas in the south, and Iran, which is an empire."

Turning to the Palestinian issue, Olmert urged Israel to take the risk of pursuing a two-state solution, which he called the "best possible solution for the State of Israel." He held Netanyahu responsible for the policies that preceded the Hamas-led October 7 massacre, saying Netanyahu developed the strategy, refused to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority and preferred an understanding with Hamas.

On settler violence in the West Bank, Olmert had a warning for Israeli political, army and police leaders. If they fail to deal with "Jewish terror" there, he said, they "will be held legally responsible for the crimes which are committed there," possibly including before the International Criminal Court.

He closed with an appeal to voters. "We have to change, and we can change," Olmert said, adding that change would be a step forward for Israel, the Palestinian people, the region and Jewish people worldwide.