The Zionism Observer
What we are doing in Gaza is a war of extermination: the indiscriminate, unrestrained, brutal, and criminal killing of civilians. We are doing this not because of an accidental loss of control in a particular sector, not because of a disproportionate outburst of fighters in some unit — but as a result of a policy dictated by the government, knowingly, intentionally, viciously, maliciously, recklessly. Yes, we are committing war crimes.
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Quote ID: 602בשבועות האחרונים כבר אינני יכול לעשות כן. מה שאנחנו עושים בעזה הוא מלחמת השמד: הרג אזרחים חסר הבחנה, נטול מגבלות, אכזרי ונפשע. אנחנו עושים זאת לא בגלל איבוד שליטה מקרי בגזרה מסוימת, לא בגלל התפרצות חסרת פרופורציה של לוחמים ביחידה כלשהי — אלא כפועל יוצא של מדיניות שמוכתבת על ידי הממשלה, ביודעין, במתכוון, ברשעות, בזדון, בהפקרות. כן, אנחנו מבצעים פשעי מלחמה.
The Israeli government is currently waging a senseless war — without purpose, without clear planning, and with no chance of success. Since its founding, the State of Israel has never initiated such a war. In this too, the gang of criminals led by Benjamin Netanyahu has set an unprecedented example in the country’s history. The clear outcome of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” is, above all, chaos within army units deployed across the Gaza Strip. This is especially true in neighborhoods where our soldiers have already fought, been wounded, and fallen — and where they have killed many Hamas fighters, who deserved their fate, but also very many uninvolved civilians. The latter have become statistics in a monstrous toll of false victims among the Palestinian population. What has happened in Gaza over recent weeks has nothing to do with a legitimate war objective. Our fighters are being sent by the country’s leadership — and by the military command that follows its orders — to fumble through the neighborhoods of Gaza City, Jabalia, and Khan Younis in an illegitimate military campaign. This has now become a private political war, and its immediate result is the transformation of the Gaza Strip into a humanitarian disaster zone. Over the past year, serious accusations have been made globally against the conduct of the IDF and the Israeli government in Gaza, including allegations of genocide and war crimes. In both domestic and international media forums, I strongly opposed those accusations — even while offering harsh criticism of the government. International media hear all the voices from our public discourse. They can tell who parrots Netanyahu and his courtiers, and who opposes him — those who, as is now common in the media, call him the head of a crime family. I did not hesitate to be interviewed in Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, and other global venues. I often disappointed my hosts by firmly asserting that Israel was not committing war crimes in Gaza. Excessive killing? Yes. An unfathomable number of uninvolved victims — children, women, and the elderly? Certainly. But I claimed, with self-conviction, that there had never been a direct order from a political decision-maker to deliberately target civilians in Gaza. The number of non-combatant civilians killed in Gaza was unreasonable, unjustified, unacceptable. But as I said in every media outlet worldwide — these were the outcomes of a brutal war. This war should have ended in early 2024. It has continued without justification, without a defined goal, and without a political vision for Gaza or the broader Middle East. Even if the army — which is obligated to execute the decisions of the political echelon — often acted recklessly, carelessly, or with excessive aggression, it did so without any order, instruction, or directive from senior command to indiscriminately harm civilians. Therefore, I previously believed no war crimes were being committed. Genocide and war crimes are legal definitions that depend heavily on the awareness and responsibility of those empowered to define the objectives, conduct, and limits of warfare. I tried, whenever possible, to distinguish between the crimes we were accused of — which I denied — and the carelessness and indifference toward Palestinian victims and the unbearable human cost. I denied the first charge, admitted the second. In recent weeks, I can no longer do so. What we are doing in Gaza is a war of extermination: indiscriminate, unrestricted, cruel, and criminal killing of civilians. We are doing this not because of a loss of control in a certain area, not due to some disproportionate outburst by a military unit — but as a direct result of a government policy, deliberate, malicious, reckless, and intentional. Yes, we are committing war crimes. First and foremost: the starvation of Gaza. On this issue, senior government officials have expressed their positions openly. Yes, we are denying food, medicine, and essential survival resources to Gaza’s residents as part of a declared policy. Netanyahu, as always, tries to obscure the nature of his instructions to avoid legal and criminal accountability. But some of his courtiers say it openly and proudly: Yes, we will starve Gaza. Because all of Gaza is Hamas, and therefore there is no moral or operational constraint on destroying them — more than two million people. Israeli media outlets, for various reasons (some of which are understandable), attempt to soften the picture. But the image seen abroad is far broader — and shocking. One cannot remain indifferent. One can no longer dismiss the global response as mere antisemitism — as though “everyone just hates us.” That lie has run its course. We cannot ignore what is happening in certain IDF units. There are too many incidents of cruel shooting at civilians and unjustified destruction of property and homes. No — French President Emmanuel Macron is not antisemitic. I know him well and have spoken with him in recent months. In a time of need, the French military stood on the front lines defending Israel and helped intercept Iran’s missile attacks. “We fight alongside you against your enemies at my instruction, and you accuse me of supporting terror,” Macron recently said. He is a friend of Israel. So are the Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and others. Even leaders associated with the political right, who until recently avoided anything that might embarrass Israel, are beginning to distance themselves. They hear the voices from Gaza. They see the suffering of hundreds of thousands. They hear what is said in the Israeli cabinet and understand what is obvious: Israel’s government, led by Netanyahu, is deliberately enacting a policy of starvation and humanitarian pressure that may result in catastrophe. Even governments traditionally friendly to Israel — Canada, the UK, and France — are starting to suggest severe measures against the Israeli government, even if those steps could cause Israel serious harm. Macron has suggested suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The leaders of Spain, the Netherlands, and Italy have followed suit. These voices will grow louder. And in addition to steps taken by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, there is a real danger that punitive actions will be taken against Israel — with devastating political, economic, and even military consequences. Netanyahu’s gang and its poison machine will immediately cry out in their typical self-victimizing way: “The Gentiles are antisemitic. They hate us. They’ve always hated us. They support terror — and we’re fighting terror.” The truth is: these governments are not anti-Israel — they are anti-this Israeli government. They believe the government has declared war on the State of Israel and its people, and that the damage it is causing is potentially irreversible. I agree with them. I believe this Israeli government is the enemy from within. It has declared war on the State of Israel and its citizens. No external enemy in the 77 years of Israel’s existence has done us more harm than what the current Israeli government, led by Itamar Ben Gvir, Netanyahu, and Bezalel Smotrich, is doing now. No external enemy has ever succeeded in undermining Israel’s social cohesion — a key to its resilience — as Netanyahu’s government has. Let me reiterate what is already becoming a broad consensus among the Israeli public: this government is unfit to rule. It is unwilling and incapable of doing what is best for the state and its citizens. It is obsessed with destroying the foundations of internal unity and cooperation — even among groups that disagree. It incites brother against brother, mother against child, soldier against soldier, and unleashes thugs on hostages and their families with sadistic, reckless cruelty — all while failing to bring the hostages home. Amid this chaos, we continue to slaughter Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. I’ve said it and I won’t take it back: the “Youth of the Horrors” are committing daily atrocities throughout the West Bank, with the army and police looking the other way. The murder of Tze’ela Gez is horrifying. One cannot help but feel grief for this young woman, killed on her way to give birth. May her son be saved and grow up surrounded by the love of his family. But when the head of the Shomron Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, calls for Palestinian villages to be destroyed — that is a call for genocide. And when a Palestinian village is torched — and many have been — we’ll be told it was just “a small violent fringe.” That’s a lie. There are many. The advance guard is always small, but behind them stand the Dagan-types, who inspire, aid, and shield them — and prepare the next wave. Where is the police? Where is the army? Where are the tens of thousands of settlers who will say: these are criminals who belong in prison — not in the olive groves of the West Bank? And let us not ignore what’s happening in certain elite IDF units — where some of Israel’s most daring fighters serve. Too many cases of cruel shootings, of looting, of theft from homes — and soldiers proudly posting about it. We are committing war crimes. I do not share the opinion of former Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon, who has said we are committing ethnic cleansing. But we are approaching a point where that becomes undeniable — the inevitable result of what our government, army, and brave soldiers are actually doing. It’s time to stop — before we are cast out from the family of nations and summoned to the International Criminal Court for war crimes. And we will have no good defense. That’s all.
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