An Israeli soldier serving in the Gaza Strip threatened a widespread military rebellion if Defense Minister Yoav Galant decided to bring the Palestinian Authority into Gaza, or withdraw from the Strip, which prompted the army to order an investigation into the incident.
A masked reserve soldier appeared inside what appeared to be a demolished house in the Gaza Strip, and behind him were slogans written in Hebrew for the extremist Kach movement, which is classified as a terrorist organization in Israel, according to the Israeli newspaper Maariv.
The soldier said, “I and 100,000 reserve soldiers will not hand over the keys of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, Fatah, Hamas, or any Arab entity.”
He called on the Minister of Defense to resign, adding, “You cannot win the war, and you cannot lead us or give us orders.”
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Addressing Gallant, he added, “I tell you: If we do not go to victory, 100,000 reserve soldiers will remain here. We will not move from here. We will call on the residents of the State of Israel to come to Gaza under the protection of our army.”
He continued, “We will listen to one leader. He is not the Minister of Defense, nor the Chief of Staff (Herzi Halevy). He is only the Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu).”
The soldier revealed the vengeful tendencies prevailing within the Israeli army by saying, “We want to kill everyone who celebrated our slaughter, all the young children who trampled on the heads of our fellow soldiers in Gaza. None of these people will survive, and you, Mr. Gallant, cannot do that.”
He added, threatening the Minister of Defense, “Here I am telling you. Either you change your record and realize that we want victory, or we will go with the Prime Minister only, and we will only follow whoever decides that we must win.”
According to Maariv, the video caused shock within the Israeli army, and the son of Prime Minister Yair Netanyahu circulated it on his Telegram account.
Haaretz newspaper reported that what the speaker said in the video, in addition to its publication by Yair Netanyahu, may constitute a criminal offense related to sedition and spreading sedition, which carries a penalty of up to 5 years in prison.
“Criminal offense”
For his part, an Israeli army spokesman said, “The behavior documented in the video is a serious violation of the orders and values of the Israeli army, and constitutes suspicion of committing criminal crimes,” according to the same source.
He added that the Chief of Military Prosecution ordered the opening of an investigation by the Military Police into the incident.
The spokesman said that, given the seriousness of the incident, Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy directed a dialogue to be held with soldiers and commanders at all levels.
For months, what appeared to be a disagreement between Defense Minister Gallant and Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding the future governance of Gaza has been surfacing.
In his latest form, Gallant warned of the repercussions of Israel moving towards establishing military rule in Gaza, calling for finding a Palestinian alternative to Hamas that would enjoy Arab acceptance, only to be subjected to fierce attacks from extremist ministers in the government and calls for him to resign.
Since last October 7, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, leaving more than 116,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly.
Israel is also ignoring a resolution from the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire, and orders from the International Court of Justice to take immediate measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the most recent of which was the order to immediately stop military operations in Rafah, yesterday, Friday.
