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Former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon has accused his country of committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip. Yaalon specifically criticized the Israeli government for putting IDF soldiers at risk and exposing them to potential lawsuits at the International Criminal Court. He also accused hard-liners of seeking to re-establish Jewish settlements in Gaza, including through ethnic cleansing. Despite these allegations, the IDF has denied conducting ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
Yaalon, who served as IDF chief of staff and defense minister, has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s allies have condemned Yaalon’s remarks as harmful to Israel. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and another former defense minister last month, alleging crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. The Biden administration has rejected these arrest warrants but warned of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has resulted in thousands of casualties, with the majority of victims being women and children, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office. Israel has faced criticism for the high number of civilian deaths in Gaza, but has pushed back against these accusations, blaming Hamas and other terrorist groups for deliberately causing harm to civilians. The fighting has also displaced most of Gaza’s population, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region.
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