AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Ehud Olmert, the former Prime Minister of the Zionist regime, wrote in an article in Arab News: British sanctions against Zionist settlements in the occupied West Bank are the first stage of the "international fight against Jewish terrorism," and this process will lead to the regime's isolation at an unprecedented level since its establishment.
Last week, the foreign ministers of 12 Western countries, including the UK, announced restrictions on trade in goods with Zionist settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Ed Miliband, the UK Foreign Secretary, also announced that his country will ban the import of goods from "illegal settlements in the occupied territories" in the West Bank.
Olmert wrote in his article that he was "not surprised" by Miliband's announcement of the decision to impose sanctions on settlers involved in "terrorist" acts in the West Bank.
He added that the increase in bloody terrorist acts has become intolerable, and these crimes are part of an organized effort by hundreds of groups of Jewish settlers and thousands of Jewish residents in the West Bank who support them, aiming to force Palestinians to leave their places of residence to pave the way for the future annexation of all these lands to Israel.
Olmert also considered the "E1" settlement plan part of efforts to prevent the implementation of the two-state solution and said, "Construction in this area divides the West Bank into two separate regions and thwarts any effort to form a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders." The "E1" plan is located east of Jerusalem and aims to create a connection between the "Ma'ale Adumim" settlement and occupied Jerusalem through the confiscation of Palestinian lands.
Olmert said, "Jewish terrorists do not operate in a vacuum, and the issue is not limited to a small handful of young criminals whom Benjamin Netanyahu has described as such."
He described this group as "widespread and growing" and said many of its members are equipped with weapons provided to them on the initiative of Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Minister of Internal Security of the Zionist regime.
Olmert also said that settlement authorities in these areas know these terrorists and support them.
Olmert accused the Zionist regime's ministers of encouraging settler crimes against Palestinians in the West Bank and pointed to the refusal of Yisrael Katz, the regime's Minister of War, to issue administrative detention orders against Jews and his use of this authority only against Palestinians.
He also accused Netanyahu of supporting "Jewish terrorism in the occupied territories" and said, "Netanyahu sees, hears, and knows everything that is happening, but fully supports the failure of the police and army, which refuse to take the necessary measures to enforce the law and establish order, as well as to arrest terrorists and transfer them to prison."
Olmert added that the absence of any initiative by the Zionist regime to stop "Jewish terrorism" has made the international community's response, led by the UK, "inevitable."
The UK and the Isolation of the Zionist Regime
Olmert considered the UK a "traditional ally" of the Zionist regime and said, "The Balfour Declaration created a moral and legal foundation for this regime that the international community accepted and played a fundamental role in the establishment of the Zionist regime."
He said Miliband's decision, who is Jewish, to impose sanctions on settlers and illegal settlements was the result of the Zionist regime cabinet's failures and its refusal to confront Jewish terrorism.
Olmert added that the UK is not alone in this effort; other countries have joined it, foremost among them France and Canada, which are also traditional allies of Israel.
He described this action as the first stage of the "international fight against Jewish terrorism in the West Bank" and predicted further actions, including "sanctions, severing relations, expelling diplomats, closing embassies, and efforts to identify Zionist figures, whether settlers or politicians who support them, and taking direct punitive measures against them."
Olmert emphasized that this process will lead to the isolation and weakening of the Zionist regime at a level unprecedented since its establishment.
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