Latest news with #YitzhakHerzog
Irish Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
‘No sane country kills babies as a hobby': Israeli politician condemns war in Gaza, causes uproar in Tel Aviv
Comments critical of Israel's war in Gaza by the leader of a left-wing opposition party have sparked a wave of condemnation across the Israeli political spectrum. Yair Golan, a former senior general in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and now leader of the Democrats, said in a radio interview on Tuesday with the Kan public broadcaster: 'A sane country doesn't kill babies as a hobby and doesn't set the expulsion of a population as a goal.' Furious rebukes were led by prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu , who described the comments as unbridled incitement against Israeli troops and the state of Israel . 'The IDF is the most moral army in the world, and our soldiers are fighting in a war for our very existence. Golan, who encourages refusal [to serve] and who in the past compared Israel to the Nazis while he was still in uniform, has now reached a new low,' he said. READ MORE Israeli president Yitzhak Herzog , who rarely comments on political matters, said 'grave and mendacious slander against IDF soldiers is a red line'. Justice minister Yariv Levin called on the IDF to strip Mr Golan of his military rank of major general. In a statement, the IDF said it operated 'against our enemies, out of loyalty to the IDF's values, to the law and to international law while uncompromisingly safeguarding the security of the state of Israel and its citizens'. Politicians from opposition and centrist parties also criticised Mr Golan, but he doubled down on his comments, stressing these were aimed at coalition politicians, not soldiers fighting in Gaza. 'This government is full of people who have no connection whatsoever to Judaism. Vengeful types who are bereft of any intelligence, morality or ability to run a country in a time of emergency,' he said. 'Israel is on the way to becoming a pariah state among the nations, the South Africa of yore, unless it reverts to acting like a sane country.' In 2016, as deputy IDF chief of staff, Mr Golan likened societal developments in Israel to 'horrifying processes' that took place in Europe in the run-up to the Holocaust. Many attributed that speech to Mr Golan being passed over for the position of IDF chief of staff. His comments on Tuesday came as Israeli forces continued their escalation in Gaza, advancing into more Palestinian neighbourhoods, forcing tens of thousands of residents to once again flee their homes. More than 53,500 people have been killed in Gaza since the October 7th, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, the Hamas-run health ministry has said. The Israelis have said 1,200 people were killed in Israel and 251 taken hostage.
Irish Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Israeli finance minister calls for Palestinian villages to be ‘flattened' after pregnant woman shot dead in West Bank
Members of Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu 's coalition have called for West Bank Palestinian villages to be 'flattened' after a Jewish woman was shot and killed while on the way to a hospital delivery room for the birth of her fourth child. Doctors were unable to save the life of Tzeela Gez (37) from the northern West Bank settlement of Bruchin but performed a Caesarean section and delivered her baby. The baby was described as being in serious but stable condition. The child's father, who was driving Ms Gez to the hospital, was lightly hurt. The shooting took place amid one of the largest Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank in two decades. Israeli soldiers launched a manhunt for the attacker, sealing off the nearby Palestinian villages. The army said five militants were killed in exchanges of fire in separate incidents in two West Bank villages. READ MORE Mr Netanyahu said he was deeply shocked by the attack. 'This despicable event reflects exactly the difference between us – those who cherish and bring life, and the despicable terrorists whose life's goal is to kill us and cut short lives.' President Yitzhak Herzog said the attack was 'a spine-chilling, horrific act of terror that shakes us to the core. At the very moment life was about to begin – life was taken in the most brutal way.' Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionist party, said that the cruelty of the 'subhuman' attackers is 'inconceivable'. 'Just as we are flattening Rafah, Khan Younis and Gaza, we have to flatten the terror hubs in Judea and Samaria,' he said, using a biblical name for the West Bank. 'The village of Bruqin near where the attack took place must be like the destroyed neighbourhoods in the Gaza Strip.' Other right-wing coalition members blamed the army for removing occupied West Bank roadblocks that had prevented Palestinian drivers using roads near settlements. [ Israeli military strikes kill dozens in Gaza as Trump visits region Opens in new window ] [ Merz vows to build the strongest army in Europe and revitalise Germany's fortunes Opens in new window ] Opposition parliamentarian Ram Ben Barak rejected the calls to flatten Palestinian villages. 'Israel's greatest mistake, for 60 years, is the belief that the violent conflict with the Palestinians can be managed and does not have to be resolved.' Hamas praised the attack as a 'heroic' response to Israel's 'escalating crimes and ongoing aggression against our people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank'. Hundreds of Palestinians and dozens of Israelis have been killed in a surge in violence in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas's deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7th, 2023. Palestinian residents have reported a wave of attacks by armed settlers on Palestinian property, cars and olive groves which rarely results in prosecution by the Israeli police. About 700,000 settlers live in 160 communities across the West Bank. The settlements are considered illegal by the vast majority of the international community. – Additional reporting: Reuters
Irish Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Germany's new leadership may be having second thoughts about supporting Netanyahu's war
When Germany and Israel established diplomatic relations six decades ago, protesters gathered outside the ceremony in Jerusalem waving signs demanding 'a German-free Israel'. A photograph from the stiff occasion shows ambassador Rolf Pauls extending his credentials to an unsmiling president Zalman Shazar while Golda Meir and other Israeli ministers glare at the official, fateful document. It was just 20 years after the end of the second World War and the wounds of the Holocaust were still fresh. Later, the ambassador's son Christian Pauls, himself a former ambassador to Ireland, remembered the occasion as 'terribly intense for both sides'. In keeping with that gloomy, intense tradition, German officials conceded on Monday that there was 'no celebratory mood' in Berlin when German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier received his Israeli counterpart Yitzhak Herzog. READ MORE Amid warm words to mark six decades of bilateral relations, described by Steinmeier as a 'gift', four public protests took place. At one outside the chancellery, organised by Amnesty International, demonstrators held up signs reading: 'Germany and Israel: no partnership for genocide' and 'No weapons for war crimes in Gaza'. The protests reflect international pressure building on Binyamin Netanyahu's government to end its two-month humanitarian aid blockade on Gaza. In a joint press conference, Steinmeier urged Israel to allow aid into Gaza 'not sometime – now'. Herzog insisted Israel was meeting humanitarian law and urged the international community to study plans for a 'new mechanism which will enable the distribution of aid directly to the people of Gaza' – cutting out the Palestinian militant group Hamas. 'If all mediators, the USA and all those in dialogue with Hamas make it very clear – 'open the door and leave the hostages behind' – then the reality on the ground will change immediately,' Herzog told German state television. The deteriorating situation in Gaza has forced new German chancellor Friedrich Merz to learn at light speed the meaning of Middle East realpolitik. [ Tensions rising in Germany amid criticism of Israeli government Opens in new window ] Merz was a staunch pro-Israeli voice in opposition but, hours after his swearing-in as chancellor last Tuesday, conceded that the Israeli approach in Gaza was a 'source of great concern'. Israel had a right to defend itself, he added, but 'must also remain a country that meets humanitarian obligations'. Before a private meeting with Herzog, Merz said German-Israeli ties had, for 60 years, 'been a symbol of reconciliation and the unique responsibility of our country toward Israel'. 'The existence of Israel and its security are anchored in the essence of our existence,' he added. Preparing the ground for Merz's visit to Israel was a priority during the inaugural weekend visit of new German foreign minister Johann Wadephul. The 62-year-old said Berlin was 'open' to US-backed proposals for a new humanitarian organisation to bring aid to Gaza. Apart from that, though, there was much continuity in his remarks. He warned the current conflict could not be 'resolved permanently by military means' and doubted 'whether all of Israel's strategic goals can be achieved in this way'. There was an echo of the previous German government, too, in his call for the return of the remaining Israeli hostages and warnings against expulsion of the two million Palestinians from Gaza or permanent Israeli occupation of Gaza. Despite that, clear pro-Israel sentiment remains strong among the ruling CDU Bundestag party. Its foreign policy expert Jürgen Hardt argued on Monday that Berlin and other capitals 'would do well to listen to Israel and, behind closed doors, form its own opinion on this situation analysis'. Amid the subdued 60th anniversary, a mutinous mood is growing in sections of the German media. The centre-left Süddeutsche Zeitung led the way on Monday, arguing that the new Merz government found itself 'at a crossroads'. 'A credible commitment to international law and its institutions cannot be reconciled,' it argued in an editorial, 'with unconditional support of this government of Israel, which has right-wing extremists in its ranks who want to drive people out of their homeland'. For some German Middle East analysts the most visible difference in Germany's approach to Israel isn't between the old and new administrations – but between the CDU in opposition and in office. 'As the siege of Gaza reaches new levels, Merz is now in power and responsible for everything,' said Dr Peter Lintl of Berlin's SWP think tank. 'It's particularly difficult for Steinmeier: to express thanks for the reconciliation of the last 60 years then address the hard approach of Israel in Gaza – how to balance that?' Before he left Berlin for Jerusalem, a visibly uncomfortable Steinmeier addressed the elephant in the corner of the German-Israeli relationship as it turns 60: an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu last year for alleged war crimes. As opposition leader, Merz said he would, once in power, extend an invitation to the Israeli prime minister. After a week in office, the Merz invitation has dropped out of sight and Steinmeier said he hoped it stayed that way. 'I assume and hope that both sides are smart enough,' he said, 'to ensure that a decision never has to be taken on whether to enforce an international arrest warrant against an Israeli prime minister in Germany.'
