Ex-Israeli PM Olmert tells officials to step down if Gaza truce talks fail

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has called on the regime’s minister of military affairs as well as army and security officials to immediately resign if the current round of negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and release of captives fail.

Speaking to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, he roundly criticized the Israeli regime's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for the failure of a deal and called on officials to take action.

“I call on minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant, Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, and Mossad chief David Barnea to announce their immediate resignations together if Netanyahu thwarts the negotiations on the deal in the coming days,” Olmert said.

“They must hold a joint press conference in which they tell the public that they have reached the conclusion that they cannot serve the moral, security, military and political interests of Israel in light of what they see, hear, and experience every day in closed sessions from the prime minister and his loyal ministers,” he added.

Olmert also said that any of the named officials who stay in their position knowing that Netanyahu “endangers [Israel’s] peace, security and stability” will be putting the regime further at risk.

He noted that Netanyahu does not want the return of Israeli captives held in Gaza since October 7, reiterating that without their return, there is no real possibility of the war on the besieged coastal territory coming to an end.

US not really determined to achieve ceasefire in Gaza, says senior Hamas official

A senior member of the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement says there is no real will on the part of the United States to establish a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

“In short, Bibi [Netanyahu] will be forced to choose between giving up absolute victory and continuing the war and expanding it into a comprehensive confrontation on multiple fronts, without a reasonable timetable for its end,” Olmert said.

“The choice is between what is good for Israel and what is good for Bibi,” he added, highlighting that the longer the war drags on, the more civilian casualties and deaths among soldiers there will be, as well as damage to infrastructure.

On August 16, representatives from the United States, Egypt and Qatar announced the conclusion of two days of Gaza ceasefire negotiations in Doha. They plan to reconvene in the Egyptian capital Cairo within a week to finalize a deal aimed at ending the conflict.

The mediators asserted that the talks were constructive and conducted in a positive environment.

However, the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement, which did not participate directly in the Doha negotiations, lambasted Israel for adding new conditions to a previously supported proposal and expressed skepticism about the negotiations' outcome. 

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