Israel had no reason to oppose Palestine's UN observer state membership, according to ex-prime minister Ehud Olmert, who plans to announce whether he will run in the next polls today.
In a speech in New York on late Monday, he also criticized Netanyahu for planning new settlements in a sensitive occupied area in the West Bank.
The move, he said, was "certain to offend" the United States after it backed Israel in opposing the Palestinian bid to become a non-member state.
"To be honest with you, I am not sure there was a reason to oppose the request from the Palestinian Authority to upgrade their status," Olmert said in his speech.
Olmert, who is seeking to rebound from a corruption case that forced him to stand down as premier in 2008, said the UN vote last week served Israeli interests more than Palestinian ones because it boosted hopes for a two-state solution.
"It will be an historical mistake that will be disastrous to the life, to the people to the future of the state of Israel," said Olmert.