Former Israeli defense minister accuses Israel of ‘ethnically cleansing’ the Gaza Strip

Moshe Ya’alon, a former member of the Likud who served as Defense Minister under Netanyahu after stint as IDF chief of staff, accuses Israeli government of promoting ‘occupation, annexation, ethnic cleansing of Gaza.’

By World Israel News Staff

A former Israeli defense minister and ex-member of the ruling Likud party accused the Israeli government over the weekend of working towards the “ethnic cleansing” of the Gaza Strip.

Speaking with Democrat TV on Saturday, Moshe Ya’alon accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition government of planning to occupy, then annex, the Gaza Strip, restore Jewish settlement in the coastal enclave, and ethnically cleanse it of Palestinian Arabs.

“The path we are being dragged down is one of occupation, annexation and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip,” Ya’alon said. “Transfer, call it what you want, and Jewish settlements.”

Ya’alon claimed that a majority of Israelis reject proposals by members of the Israeli government to maintain long-term Israeli control over the Gaza Strip, to resettle the area, or to promote voluntary migration of Palestinian Arabs.

“Now look at the polls. Seventy percent — sometimes more and sometimes a little less — of the public in the State of Israel advocates a path that is Jewish, democratic, liberal etc., and also with separation.”

“Therefore, there must be no confusion here. The one who wants to confuse us is the one who is currently leading us to nothing less than destruction.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls by some of his ministers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) to apply Israeli sovereignty over the Gaza Strip, to resettle the area, or to pursue the voluntary transfer of the Arab population.

When the host, Arab-Israeli journalist Lucy Aharish, pushed back on Ya’alon’s claims of ethnic cleansing, the former general doubled down on his accusation.

“What is happening there? What is happening there? There is no Beit Lahia, there is no Beit Hanoun, [the IDF] is currently operating in Jabalia and are essentially cleansing the area of ​​Arabs.”

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar (New Hope), a long-time rival of Netanyahu who recently joined the government, castigated Ya’alon over his comments, tweeting: “The irresponsible comments of former minister Moshe Ya’alon are incorrect and slander Israel without a basis. I call on him to retract his comments.”

Ya’alon, 74, was a career officer in the IDF, serving in the military from 1968 until his retirement in 2005. He rose to the rank of lieutenant general and served as chief of staff from 2002 to 2005, when he resigned in protest over the Gaza Disengagement plan.

Four years later, Ya’alon entered politics, running on the Likud ticket and serving as Strategic Affairs Minister and Defense Minister under Prime Minister Netanyahu from 2009-2013 and 2013-2016 respectively.

After his tenure as defense chief, however, Ya’alon became a fierce critic of Netanyahu, leaving the Likud and forming the Telem party, which later ran on a joint ticket with Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party.

During 2023, Ya’alon frequently joined protests against the judicial reform plan, accusing the Israeli government of behaving like a “dictatorship of criminals.”