Ex-Israeli PM: Trump must tell Netanyahu to stop the war in Gaza

U.S. President Donald Trump should tell Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu "enough is enough," a former Israeli prime minister has told AFP, denouncing the continuation of the war in Gaza as a "crime" and insisting a two-state solution is the only way to end the conflict.

Ehud Olmert, prime minister between 2006-2009, said in an interview in Paris that the United States has more influence on the Israeli government "than all the other powers put together" and that Trump can "make a difference."

He said Netanyahu "failed completely" as a leader by not preventing the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas that sparked the war.

He said while the international community accepted Israel's right to self-defense after October 7, this changed when Netanyahu spurned chances to end the war in March and instead ramped up operations.

Olmert said Netanyahu "has his personal interests which are prioritized over what may be the national interests."

"If there is a war which is not going to save hostages, which cannot really eradicate more of what they did already against Hamas and if, as a result of this, soldiers are getting killed, hostages maybe get killed and innocent Palestinians are killed, then to my mind this is a crime," said Olmert.

Despite occasional expressions of concern about the situation in Gaza, the U.S. remains Israel's key ally, using its veto at the UN Security Council and approving billions of dollars in arms sales.

France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting a meeting later this month in New York on steps towards recognizing a Palestinian state.

(With input from AFP) 

(Cover: Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert poses for photograph before an interview with Agence France-Presse in Paris on June 9, 2025. /VCG)