Ehud Olmert, who led the Israeli government in the mid-2000s, has issued a warning for Israeli leaders over the escalating settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

He suggested that the country will not be able to defend itself if charged with crimes over its conduct there.

“I am warning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: The day is drawing near when arrest warrants will be issued against you for the crimes being carried out every day in Judea and Samaria by Israel, with the support of its government, while you intentionally turn a blind eye to it,” he wrote in an op-ed for Haaretz, using a biblical name for the West Bank.

“The events in Gaza can be defended, because it’s possible to claim they are not a result of policy, order or intention by Israel, not even by you. In the worst case, as we all know, you are not really managing, leading or directing. After all, you’re not responsible for anything.”