New York (Web Desk/Agencies): A former Israeli defense minister has strongly accused Israel of committing war crimes and engaging in ethnic cleansing in Gaza, according to a report by The New York Times on Sunday.
This marks a rare and bold criticism from an individual with deep ties to the Israeli security establishment during an ongoing conflict.
Moshe Yaalon, who served as Israel’s defense minister under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and was once the Israeli military's chief of staff, voiced his concerns over Israel's actions in Gaza during an event on Saturday.
Yaalon, a long-time critic of Netanyahu, condemned the Israeli government for what he called its aggressive tactics in Gaza, accusing it of attempting to occupy, annex, and ethnically cleanse the region.
He pointed to the northern Gaza Strip as a particular example of what he described as a systematic cleansing of Palestinian areas.
In his remarks, Yaalon referenced the destruction of towns like Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and Jabaliya in northern Gaza, areas that have seen extensive Israeli military strikes.
He criticized Israel for pushing forward with what he saw as plans to build settlements in Gaza, a notion supported by right-wing factions within Netanyahu’s coalition.
When questioned by an interviewer whether he believed Israel was actually carrying out ethnic cleansing, Yaalon responded bluntly, pointing to the destruction in these areas and asking, “What’s happening there?”
Yaalon, who broke from Netanyahu politically in 2016, doubled down on his accusations the following day, claiming that Israeli military commanders had reached out to him expressing concerns that the government's actions were exposing them to potential legal repercussions at the International Criminal Court.
He emphasized that the ongoing operations were endangering the lives of Israeli commanders by potentially implicating them in war crimes.
These accusations come just days after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, charging them with war crimes related to the Gaza conflict.
Netanyahu’s office rejected these claims, dismissing them as “absurd and false” and accusing the ICC of being motivated by antisemitism.
Israeli officials quickly responded to Yaalon’s comments, with Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi stating that Yaalon had “crossed all the red lines,” while Likud lawmaker Tally Gotliv went as far as labeling him “worse than our biggest enemies.”
Despite the backlash, Yaalon’s remarks have garnered attention, especially among Palestinians who see them as significant.
Akram Atallah, a Palestinian journalist from Jabaliya, noted that Yaalon’s words carry weight due to his high-ranking position in the Israeli defense establishment, and serve to reinforce the Palestinian narrative of what is happening in Gaza.
In addition to the Gaza situation, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in the West Bank on Sunday, during an Israeli airstrike in the village of Siir in the Jenin district.
The attack follows a pattern of violence that has resulted in over 100 Palestinian deaths in the West Bank since the escalation of the conflict in October 2023.
As the situation in Gaza grows increasingly dire, with rising casualties and international condemnation, these statements from a former Israeli defense minister add fuel to the ongoing debate over Israel's military actions and their legality under international law.