Moshe Ya’alon: “Israeli Army is Not the Most Moral Army in the World”

Occupied Palestine (Quds News Network)- Former Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon said his remarks last week on Israel taking the path of “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza were not directed at the forces but at “the politicians, who speak proudly of the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip”, according to Israeli Channel 12.

Ya’alon stood by his words, saying: “I hope that my public appearance will stop the government from committing a war crime, while imposing the responsibility on [Israeli] commanders.”

Ya’alon added, “I don’t say anymore [that the IDF is] the most moral army in the world,” precisely because of “the interference of politicians, who are corrupting the army.”

“It’s not the most moral army today,” he repeated. “And it’s hard for me to say that.”

Doubling down on his comments from the previous evening, he said he believes his assessment to be “accurate,” and that there is “no other word for it” but ethnic cleansing, given that Israeli lawmakers speak about how “the Strip will be cleansed of Arabs.”

Asked whether he wants to take back his use of the phrase, Ya’alon reiterated that he spoke the way he did “on purpose, to sound the alarm.”

Ya’alon said, “I’m not talking about mass murder” but rather about “a different definition… evacuating a population from its homes, destroying their homes — that’s what’s happening in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya.”

Ya’alon noted that it is “not the IDF” he is charging with carrying out ethnic cleansing, but “the politicians,” notably those on the far right of the coalition, who he said are instructing the Israeli forces to “carry out what are defined as war crimes” and ordering it to “evacuate the population for operational activities,” but are acting out of ulterior motives such as the desire to revive Israeli settlement in the strip.

Asked if he thinks the arrest warrant put out by the International Criminal Court for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “justified,” Ya’alon said that he will “let them judge.”

“I think that, morally, some bad things have happened here from our point of view,” he said.

Ya’alon asked the interviewer, “Do you not live in this country? Do you not hear Ben Gvir encouraging [people] to kill?”

Questioned that the world is now using Ya’alon statements to back up the reports about the Israeli genocide in Gaza , the former defense minister said, “First of all, let’s take care of ourselves and make sure we don’t do these things” before worrying about what other people say. “That’s what’s more important.”

“War Crimes”, “Ethnic Cleansing” Committed in Northern Gaza

On Saturday, Ya’alon told Democrat TV, “The path we are being dragged down is occupation, annexation and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip,”

“Transfer, call it what you want, and Jewish settlements,” he said.

The interviewer asked, “You just used a phrase I never thought I’d hear from you—ethnic cleansing in Gaza. Is that really what you think? That we’re heading in that direction?”

Ya’alon responded, “Why on the way? What is happening there? What is happening there? There is no Beit Lahiya, there is no Beit Hanoun, they are currently operating in Jabalia and are essentially cleaning the area of ​​Arabs.”

In an interview on Sudnay with Kan News, Ya’alon was asked if he was retracting his remarks that “Israel is committing ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip.”

“I stand by this statement,” Ya’alon responded.

“The problem is not with the IDF soldiers. I am speaking on behalf of commanders serving in Gaza. They are being put in danger, and they will be exposed to lawsuits at the International Criminal Court.”

“I am compelled to warn about what is happening there. War crimes are being committed. Never has a democratic state faced trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague for such actions,” he added.

“What I said reflects the calls to reduce Gaza’s population and the push for the return of settlements to that area,” referring to statements and calls made by Israeli far-right lawmakers, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.