Israel ‘killing babies as a hobby’ in Gaza, says Democrats party leader, an IDF reserve major general
Left-wing politician Yair Golan faced a wave of backlash on Tuesday from across the political spectrum after he accused Israel of killing babies in Gaza “as a hobby.”
Golan, a former IDF deputy chief of staff and current head of the The Democrats party, a merger of Labor and Meretz, said in an interview with the Kan public broadcaster that “Israel is on the way to becoming a pariah state, like South Africa was, if we don’t return to acting like a sane country.”
The political leader, who is not a current member of Knesset, added that “a sane country does not fight against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not give itself the aim of expelling populations.”
Golan accused the current government of being “full of vengeful types with no morals and no ability to run a country in a time of crisis. This endangers our existence.” [Continue reading…]
After more than 19 months of brutal war, the patience of some of Israel’s Western allies appears to be running out. The renewed offensive on the Gaza Strip launched by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has provoked widespread anger and revulsion, as governments and humanitarian organizations point to the desperate conditions in the embattled territory. Dozens of Gazans have been killed by Israeli bombardments in recent days, while tens of thousands have been yet again forced to flee within a besieged enclave bereft of shelter and basic infrastructure.
Since the collapse of a brief ceasefire, Israel has impeded the passage of food and humanitarian goods into the territory. The unrelenting blockade has put more than 2 million people at critical risk of famine, my colleagues report.
In Brussels, the European Union announced it would begin a formal review of its trade accord with Israel, a move backed by what Kaja Kallas, the E.U.’s top diplomat, said was a “huge majority” of the 27-member bloc’s foreign ministers. Britain, too, suspended ongoing free trade talks with Israel and levied sanctions on a number of figures associated with Israel’s pro-settler far right. [Continue reading…]