[Salon] Former defense minister and chief of staff slams Gaza occupation plans

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-05-09/ty-article-live/israeli-strikes-in-gaza-kill-106-over-past-day-hamas-health-ministry-says/00000196-b2c2-dbb0-af9f-bbd2ab1e0000?liveBlogItemId=1678584865#1678584865

Former defense minister and chief of staff slams Gaza occupation plans

Former defense minister and chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon slammed the plan presented by Israel to carry out operations in the Gaza Strip in an interview with Ynet.

Referring to far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, Ya'alon wondered: "What are they talking about? Evacuating the entire population? Call it ethnic cleansing, call it a transfer, call it deportation – it's a war crime," he said.

He also accused Ben-Gvir and Smotrich: "They do not want to replace Hamas, they want Israeli rule and administration," he said. "They are sending the soldiers to commit war crimes and then say the IDF will always stay there," he accused.

Ya'alon said that Netanyahu approved a plan for a hostage deal with the security cabinet on May 27, which Biden named the "Netanyahu Plan," and Hamas approved on July 2. "Phase one was carried out because Trump forced it, phase two was torpedoed not by Hamas but by Netanyahu, and therefore he is responsible for the fact that there is no agreement," Ya'alon said.

Ya'alon also slammed the IDF chief of staff, saying that since he did not stop the next operation's approval, "he is actually not stopping a clearly illegal order with a black flag waving over it. It is now up to each commander and soldier to decide whether to comply or refuse," he said. "I think he should have stood firm, just as [Shin Bet security service head] Ronen Bar revealed to us that he was required to do illegal things.

"What did the chief of staff bring to the cabinet that everyone is now hiding behind?", Ya'alon wondered. "Did you propose purging the entire population of Gaza, a

Former defense minister and chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon slammed the plan presented by Israel to carry out operations in the Gaza Strip in an interview with Ynet.

Referring to far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, Ya'alon wondered: "What are they talking about? Evacuating the entire population? Call it ethnic cleansing, call it a transfer, call it deportation – it's a war crime," he said.

He also accused Ben-Gvir and Smotrich: "They do not want to replace Hamas, they want Israeli rule and administration," he said. "They are sending the soldiers to commit war crimes and then say the IDF will always stay there," he accused.

Ya'alon said that Netanyahu approved a plan for a hostage deal with the security cabinet on May 27, which Biden named the "Netanyahu Plan," and Hamas approved on July 2. "Phase one was carried out because Trump forced it, phase two was torpedoed not by Hamas but by Netanyahu, and therefore he is responsible for the fact that there is no agreement," Ya'alon said.

Ya'alon also slammed the IDF chief of staff, saying that since he did not stop the next operation's approval, "he is actually not stopping a clearly illegal order with a black flag waving over it. It is now up to each commander and soldier to decide whether to comply or refuse," he said. "I think he should have stood firm, just as [Shin Bet security service head] Ronen Bar revealed to us that he was required to do illegal things.

"What did the chief of staff bring to the cabinet that everyone is now hiding behind?", Ya'alon wondered. "Did you propose purging the entire population of Gaza, as Ben-Gvir and Smotrich say? If so, then you are complicit in war crimes," Ya'alon said, adding that he thinks the chief of staff must stop the upcoming operations.s Ben-Gvir and Smotrich say? If so, then you are complicit in war crimes," Ya'alon said, adding that he thinks the chief of staff must stop the upcoming operations.