Ya'alon described the gathering of Palestinians in a small area within a "humanitarian city for the purpose of voluntary relocation" as a war crime, while considering the abandonment of Israeli hostages in Gaza to their fate a "moral crime," emphasizing that "no one imagined that a government would abandon its citizens and soldiers to cling to power."
Meanwhile, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid renewed his call for early elections on Monday to replace Benjamin Netanyahu's "horrible" government. Lapid told Army Radio: "Everyone says that when we return from vacation, we'll go to elections immediately. We have to go to elections to save us from this horrific government."
Lapid is referring to the Knesset's recess, which begins on July 27 and ends in October, during which all parliamentary sessions are suspended.
The government's term expires at the end of next year, but early elections could be held if there is a majority in the Knesset supporting it, or if Netanyahu decides to support the dissolution of the Knesset in preparation for elections.
Netanyahu, who is wanted by international justice, has so far refused to hold early elections, claiming he opposes such a move in light of the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a war of genocide against Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, with absolute American support, ignoring orders from the International Court of Justice and all international appeals.
This genocide left more than 200,000 dead and wounded, most of them children and women, in addition to more than 9,000 missing and hundreds of thousands displaced, in addition to a famine that claimed the lives of many, including dozens of children.
Earlier this July, the opposition attempted to push for the dissolution of the Knesset, but failed to muster the necessary parliamentary support.
Netanyahu is on trial in Israel on corruption charges, and the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him in November 2024 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza.
On the other hand, Lapid renewed his criticism of the Israeli attacks on the Syrian capital, Damascus, last Wednesday, saying, "The response was in the wrong place. It seemed as if we were intoxicated with power, and now we are attacking wherever we please in the Middle East without a clear policy."
The Israeli opposition leader added: "Our response in Damascus was hasty and unnecessary."
Taking advantage of clashes between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes in the southern Syrian city of Sweida, Israel launched airstrikes last Wednesday on the provinces of Sweida, Daraa, Damascus, and the Damascus countryside, leaving casualties in the capital.
Israel uses its alleged "protection of the Druze" in Syria as a pretext to justify its repeated violations of the country's sovereignty, including its desire to demilitarize southern Syria.
However, most Druze leaders in Syria, in a joint statement earlier, affirmed their condemnation of any foreign interference, their commitment to a unified Syria, and their rejection of partition or secession.
Since 1967, Israel has occupied most of the Syrian Golan Heights. Taking advantage of the events that led to the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime in late 2024, it expanded its occupation of the Golan Heights and occupied the Syrian buffer zone.
