Hours after former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared that his successor Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government were dragging Israel into unprecedented isolation with his policy on Jewish settlements, the ruling Likud Party countered with its own criticism against Olmert. "Olmert, who incites the world against Israel, who instigated the rise of Hamas when he supported the unilateral withdrawal from Gush Katif (Gaza settlement bloc) and brought the Goldstone report upon us, he is the last person who can preach to the prime minister," said a Likud statement issued on Saturday evening. The statement stressed that contrary to what Olmert had told Channel 2's Meet the Press earlier in the day, "During Operation Pillar of Defense, in which the IDF dealt a blow to Hamas, Netanyahu succeeded in rallying the entire international community." In the interview, Olmert singled out Israel's recent announcement that it would build new settlement homes in the E1 corridor near Jerusalem. The plan has sparked international protest. Olmert said such plans had been around for years. But making the announcement days after the United States sided with Israel against the Palestinians' successful bid for de facto statehood recognition by the U.N. General Assembly was a slap in the face to the Jewish state's main ally. "Bibi Netanyahu," he said, using the prime minister's nickname, "is isolating Israel from the entire world in an unprecedented way; and we will pay a high price in every facet of our lives, and the Israeli public should know it." The settlement plans have provoked worldwide condemnation, with the United Nations, the United States and the European Union all voicing criticism of the project which they see as complicating any attempts at peace with Palestinians. In Berlin this week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Netanyahu to avoid "one-sided moves." Olmert also said he did not embark on a widely expected bid to run in Israel's upcoming January election due to a lack of unity in the Center-Left bloc, as well as lingering legal troubles. A former head of the centrist Kadima party, in July Olmert was largely cleared of corruption charges that had forced him from office in 2008. In the interview, Olmert also claimed that he had been personally persecuted by the State Prosecutor's Office, harshly criticizing State Prosecutor Moshe Lador. In response, the Justice Ministry issued a statement saying that "Ehud Olmert's claim of persecution by someone in the justice system is baseless, fabricated and untrue."
