ICC Issues Arrest Warrants
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Israel admits its arming Al Qaeda/HTS in Syria.
Which means that Israel is now using US funding and weapons to arm Al Qaeda terrorists.
Unless they are going to now declare that Al Qaeda are now on their side.
Which means that Israel is now using US funding and weapons to arm Al Qaeda terrorists.
Unless they are going to now declare that Al Qaeda are now on their side.
Last edited:
The Most Moral Army In The World
Former Defense Minister Accuses Israel of Committing War Crimes in Gaza
The comments by Moshe Yaalon were swiftly denied and condemned by allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, who said that they would hurt the country and help its enemies.
Listen to this article · 7:04 min Learn more
Moshe Yaalon, left, who was the Israeli defense minister from 2013 to 2016, with Benny Gantz, who later held that role, in Tel Aviv in 2019.Credit...Dan Balilty for The New York Times
By Adam RasgonLiam Stack and Natan Odenheimer
Reporting from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
Dec. 1, 2024Updated 1:40 p.m. ET
A former Israeli defense minister has accused Israel of committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, a rare critique from a member of the security establishment at a time of war.
The comments by Moshe Yaalon came amid mounting criticism of the Israeli military’s conduct in Gaza. They were swiftly denied and condemned by allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, saying that they would hurt the country and help its enemies.
Mr. Yaalon served as the Israeli military’s chief of staff during the second intifada and as Mr. Netanyahu’s defense minister during the 2014 war in Gaza, the longest conflict between Israel and Hamas before the current war. But he broke with Mr. Netanyahu in 2016 and has since become a critic of the Israeli leader.
At an event on Saturday, Mr. Yaalon denounced Mr. Netanyahu’s government for its actions in Gaza.
“The path they’re dragging us down is to occupy, annex, and ethnically cleanse — look at the northern strip,” he said. He also said Israel was being pulled in the direction of building settlements in Gaza, a notion that is supported by far-right politicians in Mr. Netanyahu’s government.
When the interviewer at the event asked Mr. Yaalon to clarify whether he thought Israel was on the way to carrying out ethnic cleansing, he responded: “Why on the way? What’s happening there? What’s happening there?”
“There’s no Beit Lahia. There’s no Beit Hanoun. They’re now operating in Jabaliya. They’re basically cleaning the territory of Arabs,” he said, referring to towns and cities in northern Gaza where a renewed Israeli offensive against the militant group Hamas has caused extensive damage in recent months. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began in response to the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023.
Image
Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip last month.Credit...Omar Al-Qattaa/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Mr. Yaalon doubled down on his accusations on Sunday, saying on public radio that Mr. Netanyahu’s government was exposing Israeli commanders to lawsuits at the International Criminal Court and was putting their lives at risk.
“I’m speaking in the name of IDF commanders who are operating in the northern strip,” Mr. Yaalon told the Reshet Bet radio station. “They reached out to me expressing fear about what’s happening there.”
He later said, in an apparent reference to the government: “At the end of the day, they’re perpetrating war crimes” — while making clear that his issue was not with the soldiers themselves.
The Israeli military declined to comment on Mr. Yaalon’s accusations, which came ten days after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Mr. Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, his former defense minister for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza.
Mr. Netanyahu’s office has rejected the accusations against the men in the warrants, calling them “absurd and false” and accusing the court of being motivated by antisemitism.
Mr. Yaalon’s comments were condemned by Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party, of which Mr. Yaalon is a former member.
“Yaalon already lost his way a long time ago,” said the party. “His defamatory words are a prize for the International Criminal Court and the haters of Israel camp. Israel is fighting back against a murderous terrorist group that carried out mass slaughter.”
Image
Palestinians in Gaza City on Saturday mourned a person killed in an Israeli strike.Credit...Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters
Mr. Gallant said on Sunday that Mr. Yaalon’s statements were “a lie that aids our enemy and harms Israel.”
The Israeli military “acted according to the highest standards that can be applied in the complex and difficult war that was imposed on us,” Mr. Gallant said in a post on social media. “The instructions and commands were always given in accordance with the law.”
Israel’s communications minister, Shlomo Karhi, said Mr. Yaalon “crossed all the red lines.” while Tally Gotliv, a firebrand Likud lawmaker, called him “worse than our biggest enemies.”
Israel has called on Palestinians from the northernmost reaches of Gaza to evacuate on several occasions since the war began last fall, including in the first week of the conflict and again in October. Tens of thousands of people have heeded those warnings and fled, but many are believed to have remained in the area, either because they cannot or do not want to leave.
Mr. Yaalon’s statements were striking because they come at a time in which Israelis from across the political spectrum have united in their opposition to the I.C.C.’s issuing of the warrants for Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant.
They were also unusual because Israelis and their leaders — like people in many countries — tend to rally around the troops during a time of war. Criticism by former Israeli officials of the war has tended to focus on strategy or whether to agree a cease-fire with Hamas, not the military’s conduct veering into potential war crimes.
Of four former senior Israeli security officials contacted by The Times on Sunday, only one agreed to comment.
Ami Ayalon, the former director of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency who has criticized Mr. Netanyahu in the past, said he wasn’t sure whether Israel’s actions in Gaza met the legal definition of “ethnic cleansing.” But he described the Israeli government’s policy directives for the military as “immoral and unjust,” saying they could expose commanders and soldiers to prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
Image
Palestinians struggling on Friday to get food cooked by a charity in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.Credit...Haitham Imad/EPA, via Shutterstock
In recent months, aid organizations and world leaders, including President Biden, have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in North Gaza. During that time, Israel has allowed little humanitarian aid to enter. Last month, Israel banned imports of commercial goods, saying that Hamas was benefiting from their sale. North Gaza is the northernmost of Gaza’s five governorates.
Israeli officials have said that Palestinians from North Gaza will be able to return to their homes after the war. Mr. Netanyahu has dismissed the idea of building settlements in Gaza, but hard-line members of his right-wing coalition have advocated for it.
Some Israelis worry that Mr. Netanyahu’s indecision about plans for postwar Gaza could result in a long-term occupation of the enclave, leaving open the possibility for right-wing members of the coalition to advance their ambitions to build settlements.
Some Palestinians from Gaza also took note of Mr. Yaalon’s comments.
Akram Atallah, a Palestinian columnist originally from Jabaliya, said he considered Mr. Yaalon’s remarks to be “extremely important.”
“This remark strengthens the Palestinian narrative of what is happening in Gaza,” he said. “And it isn’t coming from an Arab official or a sympathetic member of the international community. It’s coming from someone who was a general at the top of the Israeli system.”
Former Defense Minister Accuses Israel of Committing War Crimes in Gaza
The comments by Moshe Yaalon were swiftly denied and condemned by allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, who said that they would hurt the country and help its enemies.
Listen to this article · 7:04 min Learn more
- Share full article
Moshe Yaalon, left, who was the Israeli defense minister from 2013 to 2016, with Benny Gantz, who later held that role, in Tel Aviv in 2019.Credit...Dan Balilty for The New York Times
By Adam RasgonLiam Stack and Natan Odenheimer
Reporting from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
Dec. 1, 2024Updated 1:40 p.m. ET
A former Israeli defense minister has accused Israel of committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, a rare critique from a member of the security establishment at a time of war.
The comments by Moshe Yaalon came amid mounting criticism of the Israeli military’s conduct in Gaza. They were swiftly denied and condemned by allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, saying that they would hurt the country and help its enemies.
Mr. Yaalon served as the Israeli military’s chief of staff during the second intifada and as Mr. Netanyahu’s defense minister during the 2014 war in Gaza, the longest conflict between Israel and Hamas before the current war. But he broke with Mr. Netanyahu in 2016 and has since become a critic of the Israeli leader.
At an event on Saturday, Mr. Yaalon denounced Mr. Netanyahu’s government for its actions in Gaza.
“The path they’re dragging us down is to occupy, annex, and ethnically cleanse — look at the northern strip,” he said. He also said Israel was being pulled in the direction of building settlements in Gaza, a notion that is supported by far-right politicians in Mr. Netanyahu’s government.
When the interviewer at the event asked Mr. Yaalon to clarify whether he thought Israel was on the way to carrying out ethnic cleansing, he responded: “Why on the way? What’s happening there? What’s happening there?”
“There’s no Beit Lahia. There’s no Beit Hanoun. They’re now operating in Jabaliya. They’re basically cleaning the territory of Arabs,” he said, referring to towns and cities in northern Gaza where a renewed Israeli offensive against the militant group Hamas has caused extensive damage in recent months. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began in response to the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023.
Image
Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip last month.Credit...Omar Al-Qattaa/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Mr. Yaalon doubled down on his accusations on Sunday, saying on public radio that Mr. Netanyahu’s government was exposing Israeli commanders to lawsuits at the International Criminal Court and was putting their lives at risk.
“I’m speaking in the name of IDF commanders who are operating in the northern strip,” Mr. Yaalon told the Reshet Bet radio station. “They reached out to me expressing fear about what’s happening there.”
He later said, in an apparent reference to the government: “At the end of the day, they’re perpetrating war crimes” — while making clear that his issue was not with the soldiers themselves.
The Israeli military declined to comment on Mr. Yaalon’s accusations, which came ten days after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Mr. Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, his former defense minister for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza.
Mr. Netanyahu’s office has rejected the accusations against the men in the warrants, calling them “absurd and false” and accusing the court of being motivated by antisemitism.
Mr. Yaalon’s comments were condemned by Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party, of which Mr. Yaalon is a former member.
“Yaalon already lost his way a long time ago,” said the party. “His defamatory words are a prize for the International Criminal Court and the haters of Israel camp. Israel is fighting back against a murderous terrorist group that carried out mass slaughter.”
Image
Palestinians in Gaza City on Saturday mourned a person killed in an Israeli strike.Credit...Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters
Mr. Gallant said on Sunday that Mr. Yaalon’s statements were “a lie that aids our enemy and harms Israel.”
The Israeli military “acted according to the highest standards that can be applied in the complex and difficult war that was imposed on us,” Mr. Gallant said in a post on social media. “The instructions and commands were always given in accordance with the law.”
Israel’s communications minister, Shlomo Karhi, said Mr. Yaalon “crossed all the red lines.” while Tally Gotliv, a firebrand Likud lawmaker, called him “worse than our biggest enemies.”
Israel has called on Palestinians from the northernmost reaches of Gaza to evacuate on several occasions since the war began last fall, including in the first week of the conflict and again in October. Tens of thousands of people have heeded those warnings and fled, but many are believed to have remained in the area, either because they cannot or do not want to leave.
Mr. Yaalon’s statements were striking because they come at a time in which Israelis from across the political spectrum have united in their opposition to the I.C.C.’s issuing of the warrants for Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant.
They were also unusual because Israelis and their leaders — like people in many countries — tend to rally around the troops during a time of war. Criticism by former Israeli officials of the war has tended to focus on strategy or whether to agree a cease-fire with Hamas, not the military’s conduct veering into potential war crimes.
Of four former senior Israeli security officials contacted by The Times on Sunday, only one agreed to comment.
Ami Ayalon, the former director of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency who has criticized Mr. Netanyahu in the past, said he wasn’t sure whether Israel’s actions in Gaza met the legal definition of “ethnic cleansing.” But he described the Israeli government’s policy directives for the military as “immoral and unjust,” saying they could expose commanders and soldiers to prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
Image
Palestinians struggling on Friday to get food cooked by a charity in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.Credit...Haitham Imad/EPA, via Shutterstock
In recent months, aid organizations and world leaders, including President Biden, have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in North Gaza. During that time, Israel has allowed little humanitarian aid to enter. Last month, Israel banned imports of commercial goods, saying that Hamas was benefiting from their sale. North Gaza is the northernmost of Gaza’s five governorates.
Israeli officials have said that Palestinians from North Gaza will be able to return to their homes after the war. Mr. Netanyahu has dismissed the idea of building settlements in Gaza, but hard-line members of his right-wing coalition have advocated for it.
Some Israelis worry that Mr. Netanyahu’s indecision about plans for postwar Gaza could result in a long-term occupation of the enclave, leaving open the possibility for right-wing members of the coalition to advance their ambitions to build settlements.
Some Palestinians from Gaza also took note of Mr. Yaalon’s comments.
Akram Atallah, a Palestinian columnist originally from Jabaliya, said he considered Mr. Yaalon’s remarks to be “extremely important.”
“This remark strengthens the Palestinian narrative of what is happening in Gaza,” he said. “And it isn’t coming from an Arab official or a sympathetic member of the international community. It’s coming from someone who was a general at the top of the Israeli system.”
Then why aren't they a member of the UN. That's the body that states what the world recognizes, not you. Having observer status is not being recognized as a full member. They get to only watch the real actual members. They're on the outside looking in.
So, no. The world does NOT recognize Palestine as anything other than a "wannabe".
Lousy attempt.
You took my post out of context.
Since, as you claim, they are refugees they have no country. They have a city, though, Gaza and they held elections and chose Hamas.
Geno asked what country they live in. The answer is they have no country. All they have is a city. Do you have an alternate answer that is more accurate? LOL Didn't think so.
The only fact here is that you keep dancing around your answer but always put more emphasis on Israel's response as opposed to Hamas' actions on Oct 7th that lead to the response.
You seem to put all your effort into admonishing Israel's response rather than being able to come to terms with why Hamas attacked in the first place if they knew there would be retaliation?
Hamas could have released hostages a year ago, but instead, decided to hide among Palestinian civilians hoping they could avoid retaliation. They were obviously wrong.
And before you spew that same nonsense about "Israel wouldn't stop the war even if the hostages were released", don't even bother because that's a myth and too late anyway.
No one should negotiate with terrorists. Tell me why?
Doug Ford is in power with 18% of the electorate voting for him.
trump won with about 48%.
They won an election and the US/Israel got pissed, started a coup and then decided to rule them through blockade and apartheid.
Up until Netanyahu decided that keeping Hamas in power worked to keep Palestinians divided.
Oct 8 in the times of Israel.
For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces
The premier’s policy of treating the terror group as a partner, at the expense of Abbas and Palestinian statehood, has resulted in wounds that will take Israel years to heal from
Like this?
Genocide Joe vetoed what the world voted for.
Every accusation is a confession.
You think wiping a country off the maps is justification for genocide yet you just tried to do it to Palestine.
Were any rules broken? No.
Bottom line, the UNGA does not recognize Palestine as a full member of the UN. They are not a sovereign state. Deal with it, Geno, because as you constantly tell us "We must always listen to what the UN tells us". Did I get that right? Always? And please don't deflect to other UN decisions. Stay on topic of this discussion we're having right now, as to whether Palestine is a sovereign state or not.
Once again you just cannot comprehend that I condemned the Oct 7th Hamas attack. The main reason that they held the hostages was for Israel to release the several Palestinians held in Israel. Could Israel not just send the army in to fight The Hamas militants instead of indiscriminately bombing hospitals, infrastructures, killing the civilians including over 40,000 mainly women and children, injuring thousands of others, destroying their homes, creating a famine that is unprecedented? Now over 60,000 other have died as a result. Tantamount to a genocide, hence the ICC verdict on Netanyahu and his right hand man. Yet this could have been prevented if The IDF was dispatched right away after Hamas killed this 1000+ civilians and took those hostages. no doubt that Netanyahu keeps on postponing the enquiry into his handling of this crisis.
Remember that Netanyahu himself said said tat he will not stop the war until Hamas is destroyed. Why can you not accept that fact for once!!
But You keep on asking stupid questions the whole time. Did they not have to negotiate with these terrorists to release some of the hostages? Not sure what is the crux of your question!!
Hamas should be destroyed...just like ISIS should be destroyed and any other terrorist organization. Otherwise terrorist attacks would continue. Do you have a problem with that simple concept?
So if Hamas took hostages as a negotiation strategy to have imprisoned Palestinians released then why did they kill all those innocent people in the process and many hostages along the way?
If Hamas wasn't hiding among Palestinians then civilians wouldn't be put in harms way. Where is the outrage from Palestinians about Hamas putting them in danger? Would you want terrorists hiding in your house?
Your "condemnation" of Hamas doesn't hold water.
Self deception is a core component of Ziontology
Obviously, you need to go and tell BS that to the ICC who have issued arrest warrants for both Israel and Hamas Leaderships. You are just so biased that you do not care about the killings of over 44,000 Palestinians, mainly women and children. I at least have set a much higher bar than you by holding both Hamas and Netanyahu responsible for this needless and pointless war.
But how about over 800 Palestinians in The West Bank that are being killed with Netanyahu's Blessings by these Illegal Israeli Settlers? Does that Matter to you? I know you will not answer this simple question!!
Illegal Israeli settlers vandalize, set ablaze Palestinian properties in northern West Bank
Settlers attack 2 Palestinian towns near Nablus city, burn 2 houses, market, 3 cars, according to reports
Illegal Israeli settlers vandalize, set ablaze Palestinian properties in northern West Bank
Settlers attack 2 Palestinian towns near Nablus city, burn 2 houses, market, 3 cars, according to reports - Anadolu Ajansı
www.aa.com.tr
Now these innocent Palestinians have been killed under the watch of the Israeli Police. Were those killed supposed to be "Hamas terrorists", or were they "hiding in your house"? However, these violent and deadly acts of terrorism by these illegal settlers has been going on well before the war started. Of course only The Israeli lost lives matter to you as your argument painting Israel as an innocent player does not bear any substance with the vast vast majority of Nations around The Globe!!
Every time you respond you just prove my point over and over again.Obviously, you need to go and tell BS that to the ICC who have issued arrest warrants for both Israel and Hamas Leaderships. You are just so biased that you do not care about the killings of over 44,000 Palestinians, mainly women and children. I at least have set a much higher bar than you by holding both Hamas and Netanyahu responsible for this needless and pointless war.
But how about over 800 Palestinians in The West Bank that are being killed with Netanyahu's Blessings by these Illegal Israeli Settlers? Does that Matter to you? I know you will not answer this simple question!!
Illegal Israeli settlers vandalize, set ablaze Palestinian properties in northern West Bank
Settlers attack 2 Palestinian towns near Nablus city, burn 2 houses, market, 3 cars, according to reports
Illegal Israeli settlers vandalize, set ablaze Palestinian properties in northern West Bank
Settlers attack 2 Palestinian towns near Nablus city, burn 2 houses, market, 3 cars, according to reports - Anadolu Ajansı
Now these innocent Palestinians have been killed under the watch of the Israeli Police. Were those killed supposed to be "Hamas terrorists", or were they "hiding in your house"? However, these violent and deadly acts of terrorism by these illegal settlers has been going on well before the war started. Of course only The Israeli lost lives matter to you as your argument painting Israel as an innocent player does not bear any substance with the vast vast majority of Nations around The Globe!!
