Former Israeli Defense Minister Accuses Israel of War Crimes, Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza

Former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon has leveled serious accusations against the current government, alleging the commission of war crimes and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera reports.

His remarks echo recent International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants issued for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on similar charges.

Yaalon, a former chief of staff of the Israeli army, told Israeli media outlets that hardliners within Netanyahu’s far-right government are pursuing a policy aimed at displacing Palestinians from northern Gaza and re-establishing Jewish settlements there.

“I am compelled to warn about what is happening there and is being concealed from us,” Yaalon said on Sunday, adding, “At the end of the day, war crimes are being committed.”

In a separate interview, he declared that Israel’s actions amount to “conquest, annexation, and ethnic cleansing.” Yaalon, a long-time critic of Netanyahu, served as defense minister under the Prime Minister from 2013 to 2016.

Netanyahu’s Likud party dismissed Yaalon’s accusations as “slanderous lies,” a sentiment echoed by Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.

The ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants last month for Netanyahu and Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Gaza conflict has further fueled international condemnation. Palestinians have consistently accused Israel of ethnic cleansing in Gaza.

The Israeli military’s intensified attacks on northern Gaza in recent weeks, targeting Hamas fighters, have forced thousands of civilians to flee, leading to a worsening humanitarian crisis. United Nations agencies report that Palestinians in the north have endured over a month under siege. Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf’s recent visit to the Gaza border and endorsement of settlement re-establishment plans have further inflamed tensions. Most world powers consider settlements built on land occupied in the 1967 war illegal, viewing their expansion as a significant obstacle to peace.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) reiterated calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza during a recent meeting in Kuwait, adding their support for the ICC arrest warrants.

Despite ongoing ceasefire negotiations, Israeli forces launched a strike on Beit Lahyia on Monday, killing at least 10 more Palestinians. The ongoing conflict has resulted in a devastating toll, with at least 44,429 Palestinians killed and 105,250 wounded since October 7, 2023. The Hamas attacks on October 7 resulted in at least 1,139 deaths and more than 200 captives in Israel.