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Jailed ex-Israeli PM Ehud Olmert: 'I'm sorry I didn't spend more time on political survival'

He tells the JC he 'wasted all my time on doing what I thought was best for Israel'

June 21, 2018 14:00
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ByBen Weich, Ben Weich

3 min read

In the mind of Ehud Olmert, his tenure as Israeli Prime Minister and its immediate aftermath has a ring of the 1998 Gwyneth Paltrow film Sliding Doors.

Olmert, who took office after Ariel Sharon suffered a devastating stroke, is firm in his conviction that had his premiership lasted more than three years, Israelis would now be living in peace with Palestinians and thousands of lives would have been saved.

Instead, he announced his resignation in July 2008 amid tumbling approval ratings following an unpopular war with Lebanon, as well as a string of allegations of corruption and bribery.

To this day he insists he was the victim of a conspiracy by right-wing forces determined to derail his peace-making efforts and replace him with Benjamin Netanyahu.