‘Leading us to destruction’: Former Israeli defence minister slams PM Benjamin Netanyahu

A former defence minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has unleashed on the Israeli Prime Minister.

A former defence minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has accused the Prime Minister of leading Israel down a path to “destruction” in an extraordinary tirade against the country’s military policies in Gaza and the West Bank.

Moshe Ya’alon was Israel’s defence minister, under Mr Netanyahu, from 2013-2016, as a member of the conservative political party Likud. Previously, from 2002-2005, he served as commander-in-chief of the Israel Defence Forces.

Mr Netanyahu (right) meeting with Mr Ya’alon (centre) and the IDF’s chief of staff Benny Gantz (left) in 2014. Picture: Ariel Harmoni/Getty Images

Speaking to Democrat TV, an Israeli broadcaster, Mr Ya’alon expressed severe reservations about the Israeli military’s strategy in its war against Hamas.

“The path we are being dragged down is one of occupation, annexation, and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip,” he said.

Mr Ya’alon also criticised the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and said his country’s goal should still be a two-state solution, which would theoretically see sovereign Israeli and Palestinian states existing, peacefully, side-by-side.

That is the stated aim of Western nations and the Palestinian Authority, which governs Palestinian-controlled parts of the West Bank. It is counter to the aims of Hamas, which runs Gaza, and whose genocidal goals include the complete destruction of Israel.

Views within Israel itself are split, with some senior politicians publicly advocating for the current residents of Gaza and the West Bank to be expelled into other countries, leading to an Israeli takeover of all that territory. Others continue to support a two-state solution.

“Look at the polls. Seventy per cent – sometimes more and sometimes a little less – of the public in Israel advocates a path that is Jewish, democratic, liberal, and also with separation,” Mr Ya’alon argued.

“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.”

Mr Netanyahu addressing the United Nations in September. Picture: Charly Triballeau/AFP

Host Lucy Aharish was struck by Mr Ya’alon’s use of the words “ethnic cleansing”.

“Ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip. Is that what you think? That we are on the way to that?” Ms Aharish asked.

“Why ‘on the way’?” Mr Ya’alon responded.

“What is happening there? There is no Beit Lahia (a city in northern Gaza). There is no Beit Hanoun (another city). (The IDF) are currently operating in Gaza and are essentially cleansing the area of Arabs.”

In a subsequent interview with Channel 12, Mr Ya’alon defended his remarks.

“I don’t say anymore that Israel is the most moral army in the world,” he said.

“It’s not the most moral army today, and it’s difficult for me to say that.”

The former defence minister blamed “the interference of politicians” for “corrupting the army” – a fairly transparent allusion to Mr Netanyahu.

Mr Ya’alon was slapped down by both an official spokesman for the IDF, which called his claims harmful to Israel, and by the country’s Foreign Minister, who called them “slander”.

“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,” said Gideon Sa’ar.

“The IDF acts in accordance with international law, and evacuates the population in accordance with the operational need and temporarily, for its protection,” said a spokesman for the Israeli military.

“The IDF rejects the grave allegations of ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, which harm the IDF and its soldiers.”

A Palestinian walks among the rubble in Beit Lahia, one of the cities Mr Ya’alon mentioned. Picture: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters

Meanwhile US President-elect Donald Trump has warned Hamas that the repercussions will be significant if it fails to return its remaining hostages before he takes office in January.

“If the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity,” Mr Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social (capitalisations his).

“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”

The hostages have been held by Hamas since October 7 of last year, when the terrorist group launched a surprise attack on communities in southern Israel. It killed more than 1200 Israelis, and seized 251 captives.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has so far killed about 44,000 people in Gaza, according to figures from its Hamas-run health ministry, which United Nations believes are reliable.

– with AFP