Israel's former defence minister Moshe Yaalon has accused the Israeli army of 'ethnic cleansing' in the Gaza Strip, sparking controversy within the country.
'The path we are being led down is conquest, annexation, and ethnic cleansing,' Yaalon stated in an interview on the private DemocratTV channel. When pressed on his 'ethnic cleansing' assessment, he elaborated: 'What is happening there? Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun no longer exist; the army is intervening in Jabalia, and in reality, the land is being cleared of Arabs.'
The northern Gaza Strip, which includes the areas Yaalon mentioned, has been the focus of an Israeli offensive since October 6, aimed at preventing the Palestinian militant group Hamas from regrouping. Yaalon, 74, led the Israeli army from 2002 to 2005, just before Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza. He later served as defence minister and deputy premier before resigning in 2016 due to disagreements with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
His comments were met with immediate backlash in Israel. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir expressed shame for 'having had such a figure as army chief and defence minister.' Netanyahu's Likud party, to which Yaalon once belonged, condemned his 'empty and dishonest remarks,' labeling them 'a gift to the ICC and to Israel's enemies.' This statement referred to the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant on suspicion of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza.
The conflict in the Palestinian territory began after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in 1,207 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign has claimed 44,382 lives in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which the UN considers reliable. Earlier this month, a UN special committee highlighted 'mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians.' The committee stated that Israel's prosecution of the war in Gaza 'is consistent with the characteristics of genocide,' marking the first time the UN has used the term in the context of the current war in Gaza. Israel has dismissed the United Nations' assessment as 'anti-Israel fabrications.'
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