JERUSALEM

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Saturday that Jews are committing killings, "ethnic cleansing," and "crimes against humanity" in the West Bank.

In an interview with Channel 12, Olmert said such actions “would bring Israel to The Hague,” referring to the International Criminal Court (ICC) based in the Dutch city.

Addressing Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and Police Commissioner Danny Levy, he warned: “Save the country from this catastrophe. You will end up in The Hague.”

His remarks come as Israeli aggressions continue in the West Bank, including killings, demolitions, displacement, and settlement expansion since Oct. 2023, alongside the genocide in Gaza.

The violence in the West Bank has killed 1,340 Palestinians, injured about 11,750 others, and led to the arrest of nearly 22,000, amid international warnings over a possible Israeli annexation of the territory.

On Nov. 21, 2024, the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Gaza war.

A ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, aimed to end a two-year war that killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, wounded over 171,000, and caused widespread destruction to about 90% of civilian infrastructure, with reconstruction costs estimated by the UN at around $70 billion.

In Dec. 2025, the ICC Appeals Chamber rejected Israel’s appeal against the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.

According to the court, judges dismissed Israel's challenge to halt the investigation into its actions during the Gaza war by a majority vote.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul