Times of Israel: Netanyahu's ex-defense chief Ya'alon warns Israel on path of 'ethnic cleansing' in Gaza
Former army head and prominent Netanyahu critic tells reporters that Israel is moving toward ‘occupation, annexation and ethnic cleansing’ under far-right pressure on PM
By ToI Staff and Agencies
Today, 5:08 pm
Former defense minister and IDF chief of staff Moshe Ya’alon said on Saturday that Israel’s leadership, driven by far-right elements who seek to resettle Gaza, was taking the country down a path of ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, while warning that Netanyahu’s government was leading the nation to “destruction.”
“The path we are being dragged down is one of occupation, annexation and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip,” the prominent government critic told Democrat TV.
“Transfer, call it what you want, and Jewish settlements,” he said, referring to the idea pushed by the Israeli far-right for population transfer and “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from Gaza, and the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in their place, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said such actions are not the goal of the war, nor are they on the agenda.
Ya’alon is a right-wing politicians who was a Likud member for years and defense minister under Netanyahu in 2013-2016, but in recent years became a harsh critic of Netanyahu and his governments’ policies.
Said Ya’alon: “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 [of religion and state].”
“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,” he said.
Journalist Lucy Aharish noted that Ya’alon was using surprising language with the term “ethnic cleansing.”
Link to tweet
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= new reply since forum marked as read
Former DM and IDF COS Moshe Ya’alon speaks the emeth.
"Since 7 Oct 2023, more than 44,382 Palestinians have been killed and more than 105,142 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced nearly all of its 2.3 million people. The IDF claims that 17,000 of these casualties were militants. In the West Bank, 760 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,769 injured by IDF personnel or Settlers since Oct 2023."
This means:
1) 27,000 Palestinians were KIA as collateral damage in the Gaza Strip.
2) Mathematically, 3,384 Palestinians have been killed each month since Oct 2023.
So how much worse could it get under the incoming Trump administration? Worse than these numbers cited above?
Our Democratic Party lost a lot of voters between the 2020 Biden-Harris win and the 2024 Harris-Walz loss.
"In 2024, Harris won a miniscule 20% of Muslim voters according to an exit poll commissioned by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The same poll showed former president Donald Trump capturing 21% of Muslim votes while Green Party candidate Jill Stein won an eye-popping 53%."
This specific poll reflected a 1% differential in Arab-American support for Trump over Harris.
And many frustrated anti-war progressives in the Democratic Party stayed home this Election Day (like they did in 1968 because they couldn't support Hubert Humphrey and his Vietnam War policies).
GOP President-elect Donald Trump takes office 20 Jan 2025.
Sources:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/12/1/live-aid-workers-among-45-killed-by-israel-in-gaza-as-hamas-in-truce-talks?update=3358643
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/11/29/how-kamala-harris-thumbed-her-nose-at-arab-american-and-muslim-voters/
