Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video posted on X/Twitter on Wednesday, slammed the Tuesday remarks made separately by the Democrats Party chair Yair Golan and former prime minister Ehud Olmert.

In a Tuesday interview with KAN Reshet Bet, Golan said that “sane countries do not kill babies as a pastime.”

Speaking to the BBC later that day, Olmert told the broadcast company that Israel’s actions in Gaza were nearing the definition of “a war crime.”

These statements, the prime minister said in the video, were “shocking,” echoing “terrible slander against the IDF and the State of Israel.”

“While we are fighting the Hamas murderers, we are not only fighting them but also the false propaganda and slander against Israeli soldiers,” the prime minister said.

Leader of the Democrats party Yair Golan leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on February 10, 2025. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
Leader of the Democrats party Yair Golan leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on February 10, 2025. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
“And here they come from within us and echo this, and give legitimacy to this terrible slander against the IDF and the State of Israel, and repeating all the lies, [such as that Israel is] an apartheid state and baby killer,” the prime minister said.

“Hamas, rubbing its hands together in delight, must be saying: ‘I cannot believe it,’” Netanyahu said.

He added that there is “some sort of rot within us.”

“People cannot see the just war we are fighting, using just methods while the IDF makes every effort to avoid harming civilians as Hamas makes every effort to harm them,” Netanyahu continued. “And not just our civilians, but theirs, too.”

He concluded by saying that the comments made by Golan and Olmert “created damage” and that “we will need to fight this as well.”

'Shocking that 'after October 7, you are still prime minister'

The video was filmed outdoors, and Golan responded soon after with a video of his own, also taken outdoors, mimicking Netanyahu’s style.

“I’ll tell you what’s shocking,” Golan said. “What’s shocking is that after October 7, you are still the prime minister. What’s shocking is that you funded Hamas with billions of dollars, and even after you were told the money was reaching Nukhba forces [Hamas commandos], you did not close the faucet.”

Golan continued, “What’s shocking is that your aides took money from Qatar. A state that funded Hamas and October 7 lined the pockets of your advisers, and you know what is more shocking? That you have not yet renounced or fired them.”

“What’s shocking is that you abandon hostages and fighters in favor of the draft dodgers [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich and [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben-Gvir.

“What’s shocking is that again and again, you delay hostage deals, abandoning the captives to stay in power. What’s shocking is that you sell fighters and reservists for haredi wheeling and dealing.

“What’s shocking is that my son is about to go into Gaza, while your son is partying in Miami and spewing poison about Israel,” Golan said.

“Do you know what really shocks you? When one speaks the truth without fearing the poison machine,” Golan concluded.

His comments on Tuesday morning in the KAN interview drew criticism from both the coalition and the opposition.

Golan later said in a press conference that his words were directed at the government, which he claimed was expanding the war for political purposes, and not at IDF soldiers.