Former Israeli defense minister Moshe Yaalon has accused his country of committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, criticizing the government for putting IDF soldiers in danger and exposing them to lawsuits at the International Criminal Court. He expressed concern over hard-liners wanting to establish Jewish settlements in Gaza and cleanse the area of Arabs. Yaalon, who served as chief of staff during the second intifada and later as defense minister, quit in 2016 due to lack of faith in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu’s allies condemned Yaalon’s remarks, with former defense minister Yoav Gallant calling them harmful to Israel and supportive of the enemy. The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, accusing them of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza, prompting Netanyahu’s office to reject the accusations as false and antisemitic. Israeli politicians from various parties have opposed the arrest warrants.
The Biden administration has rejected the arrest warrants, but has raised concerns over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where limited aid has been allowed to enter. The ongoing conflict since October 2023 has resulted in over 44,000 deaths and more than 100,000 wounded, with high civilian casualties. The fighting has displaced most of Gaza’s population, with the U.N. Human Rights Office reporting that nearly 70% of victims in the first six months of this year were women and children. Israel’s diplomatic mission to the U.N. has rejected the report, blaming Hamas and other terrorist groups for deliberately harming civilians in Gaza.
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