11 murdered Israelis no reason for war, says deputy minister

Yair Golan says Israel shouldn’t go to war over “every small attack,” those suggesting military operation are “hysterical.”

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Deputy Economy Minister Yair Golan of the left-wing Meretz party said that the murder of 11 Israelis during a spate of deadly terror attacks last week is not sufficient grounds for a military operation and that those suggesting such a move are “hysterical.”

Golan made the remarks in an interview with Channel 13 News, focusing on the 20th anniversary of Operation Defensive Shield, a full-scale military offensive by the IDF during the Second Intifada that aimed to stop terror attacks.

He told Channel 13 that it was “certainly” true that the number of Israelis killed by terrorists would need to cross a certain theshold before the IDF would take military action, emphasizing that military force should be used “only when it is a must.”

The lawmaker did not give a specific number of Israelis that need to be killed in order for a strong IDF response, nor did he define any aspects of the “must” scenario that would justify military action.

“You do not go out to an operation, which means a declaration of war, over every small attack,” Golan said.

“A state must act responsibly… What you suggest is hysteria for its own sake. We are not going out on an operation over every attack, not even over three terrorist attacks in which 11 Israelis were killed, I think, which is a very serious matter.”

A retired major general and one-time deputy chief of staff for the IDF, dovish Golan has made a number of remarks slamming right-wing Jews.

Last week, he said right-wing MK Itamar Ben Gvir “shares a goal” with the Hamas terror group because he disagreed with the lawmaker’s decision to visit the Temple Mount.

During a speech at a high school in February, Golan berated a student who suggested that terrorists be stripped of their Israeli citizenship, calling the teen a “danger to national security.”

In January, Golan sparked widespread controversy after referring to settlers — residents of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria — as “despicable” and “subhuman.”

During the same interview, he said that alleged settler vandalism of Palestinian property was equivalent to antisemitic pogroms in Europe.

Arab terrorleft-wingMeretzTerrorYair Golan