New York (TDI): Former Israeli defence minister Moshe Yaalon has accused Israel of committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing in besieged Gaza, The New York Times reported Sunday.
The comments by, the ex-defence minister, came amid mounting international criticism of the Israeli military’s deadly attacks in Gaza, but allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately rebuffed his charges.
The paper noted that it was a rare critique from a member of the security establishment at a time of war.
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Yaalon served as the Israeli military’s chief of staff during the second ‘intifada’ and as Netanyahu’s defence minister during the 2014 Israeli war in Gaza, the longest conflict between Israel and Hamas before the current war.
On the occasion of an event on Saturday, Yaalon denounced Netanyahu’s government for its aggression in Gaza.
“The path they’re dragging us down is to occupy, annex and ethnically cleanse, look at the northern strip,” Yaalon said.
When asked to clarify as whether he thought Israel was on the way to carrying out ethnic cleansing, he reportedly said “Why on the way? What’s happening there? What’s happening there?”
“There’s no Beit Lahia. There’s no Beit Hanoun. They’re now operating in Jabaliya. They’re basically cleaning the territory of Arabs,” he said, referring to towns and cities in northern Gaza where a renewed Israeli offensive has caused extensive damage in recent months.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza since Oct 7, 2023.
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On Sunday talking to public radio, Yaalon said that Netanyahu’s government was exposing Israeli commanders to lawsuits at the International Criminal Court and was putting their lives at risk.
“I’m speaking in the name of IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) commanders who are operating in the northern strip,” Yaalon told the Reshet Bet radio station. “They reached out to me expressing fear about what’s happening there.”
