Former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon accused Israel of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” in the Gaza Strip in an interview with Israeli broadcaster Kan.
Ya’alon, who served as defense minister from 2013 to 2016, spoke about Israel’s plans to expel Palestinians from northern Gaza and build Israeli settlements there instead.
He said he was speaking on behalf of Israeli commanders deployed in northern Gaza, who were very concerned about the situation.
“They are in a life-threatening situation, they are facing a moral dilemma, and they could be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court,” he said.
Israel has committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip, Ya’alon said.
His comments were condemned as “malicious lies” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing conservative Likud party.
Far-right members of the Israeli government have repeatedly called for the return of Israeli settlers to Gaza, but this is not official government policy.
