Olmert: Israel is about to fall into civil war reform | Israel | Olmert
On July 24th local time, after the Israeli parliament approved a controversial bill related to judicial reform that limits the Supreme Court's ability to overturn government decisions, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated that Israel is on the brink of a civil war.
According to the Jerusalem Post on the 25th, many people in Israel are dissatisfied with the judicial reforms implemented by the government under the current Prime Minister Netanyahu. In recent weeks, hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens have taken to the streets to protest, and thousands of Israeli Defense Force reserve personnel have threatened to withdraw from volunteer services. After the bill related to judicial reform was passed, Israeli medical staff went on strike to protest.
Regarding this matter, Olmert said in an interview with British Channel 4 News, "This is a threat, this is a serious threat." He said, "This situation has never happened before, and we are now about to fall into civil war."
"What I mean is that nonviolent resistance may have an impact on the stability of the country, the government's ability to govern, and the obedience of the majority of the Israeli people." Orheimer added that nonviolent resistance is aimed at "a government that is considered illegal by the majority of the people. The government's decisions threaten the foundation of Israeli democracy, which is not something we can accept or tolerate.".
However, in the interview video with Olmert posted by Fourth News on Twitter, there were many comments that disregarded Olmert's remarks. A comment said, "This old man is a convicted criminal who was imprisoned for accepting bribes! He accepted cash bribes, do you believe such a person?" Other comments also criticized the criminal case of the former Israeli Prime Minister.
According to previous reports from Xinhua News Agency, in early 2009, Olmert was accused of corruption and forced to resign from his position as prime minister. In May 2014, the Tel Aviv District Court found that Olmert, while serving as the mayor of Jerusalem, accepted bribes from developers and forcibly promoted a controversial real estate project. He was sentenced to six years in prison on charges of bribery. In December 2015, the Israeli Supreme Court reduced his sentence to 18 months. In February 2016, the Jerusalem District Court found that Olmert was also guilty of obstructing judicial justice and sentenced him to an additional month in prison.