Confession from within

The statements of the Chief of Staff of the Occupation Army and former Minister of Defense Moshe (Bogie) Ya'alon describing the activity of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip as ethnic cleansing came as additional evidence and recognition from within the Israeli military establishment of the wars of extermination, massacres, ethnic cleansing campaigns, and the planned displacement of the citizens of the Gaza Strip and not allowing them to return to their homes and places of residence that were destroyed by the occupation.

In an interview over the Sabbath, Ya'alon admitted that the army was "cleansing the area of Gazans," which is in line with the generals' plan to create a military buffer zone, whereby citizens would be expelled to and

Central and southern Gaza Strip.

Ya'alon touched on other important issues, most notably the Netanyahu government's intention to drag Israel into occupying the Gaza Strip, annexing it, and establishing new settlements on the territory of the Strip.

Ya'alon's reference to the fact that the majority of the Israeli public supports separation from Gaza, withdrawal and ending the aggression is further evidence that the policy of the right-wing government led by Netanyahu, along with Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, does not pay any attention to public opinion and the Israeli street, and thus does not pay attention to what can be described, if I may say so, as the interests of the Israelis. Here, it is necessary to point out a poll conducted by Channel 12 of Israeli television, which indicated that 71 percent of Israelis support ending the war on Gaza and moving towards an exchange deal and a ceasefire.

Despite these views and orientations, and despite the recent diplomatic moves, and the visits of Palestinian delegations from Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad to Cairo, and holding talks with the Egyptian side about the possibility of opening the Rafah crossing and increasing the rate of entry of humanitarian aid, as part of a broader and more comprehensive agreement, which may be followed by a ceasefire, and despite the moves that the United States claims to be making on the diplomatic level, Netanyahu has clearly declared that he will not stop the aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Returning to Ya'alon's interview, the interviewer asked him: Did you say "ethnic cleansing" in the Gaza Strip - is this what you think we are on our way to?

Ya'alon replied: "Why on the way? It really happened. Today there is no Beit Lahia, and there is no Beit Hanoun."

He added: In fact, we are cleansing the region of Palestinians and wiping them out of existence.

What awaits the Gaza Strip from Israeli plans is much greater than a swap deal, a partial ceasefire or a temporary truce. On the Israeli agenda is a strategic plan, the goal of which is to eliminate the cause of our Palestinian people, in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and to propose more settlement projects here and there, and to impose Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank and to practice the policy of Judaization in the full sense of the word in the city of Jerusalem, including strengthening settlement units, demolishing the homes of Jerusalemites, and seizing Islamic and Christian holy sites. All of these measures prove beyond any doubt the reality of the Israeli orientations and its arbitrary and racist policies against our Palestinian people. Ya’alon’s confessions come from the heart and depth of the Israeli military system to confirm that Israel is an entity that cannot be trusted, neither in negotiations nor discussions nor deals, and that it will continue the policy of death against everything Palestinian.