Former Israeli defense minister Moshe Yaalon has accused Israel of committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, a claim that has sparked sharp criticism from government officials. Yaalon, a former general and longtime critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alleged that hardliners in Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet aim to expel Palestinians from northern Gaza and re-establish Jewish settlements in the area.
In an interview with Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, Yaalon said, “I am compelled to warn about what is happening there and is being concealed from us. At the end of the day, war crimes are being committed.”
Netanyahu’s Likud party dismissed Yaalon’s claims as “slanderous lies,” while Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar insisted that Israel’s actions comply with international law. He criticized Yaalon for the damage he believes these accusations have caused to Israel’s global image.
The controversy comes as the International Criminal Court (ICC) recently issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, citing alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the ongoing Gaza conflict. Both leaders have rejected the charges.
Escalating Conflict in Gaza
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which began in October 2023 following a surprise attack by Hamas militants, has resulted in over 44,400 deaths and the displacement of nearly the entire population of the enclave. While Israel justifies its operations as targeting Hamas fighters, Yaalon accused the government of conducting ethnic cleansing, citing the destruction of neighborhoods like Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, and Jabaliya.
Yaalon also criticized recent support from Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf for re-establishing Jewish settlements in Gaza, a move seen as reversing Israel’s 2005 disengagement from the territory. Goldknopf argued that such settlements were a fitting response to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack and to international criticism of Israel’s actions.
The international community has largely condemned the expansion of settlements in territories captured in the 1967 war, deeming them illegal under international law and a major obstacle to peace efforts.
