Netanyahu attacks Haaretz for describing an Israeli military commander as a "war criminal"

Arab Sea Newspaper - News Updates

Arab Sea - Follow-ups: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked the left-wing newspaper "Haaretz" after its sharp criticism of a military commander, describing him as a "war criminal." This attack came after journalist Gideon Levy wrote in the Israeli newspaper on Thursday about a decision by the commander of the Central Command in the army, Avi Blut, regarding the village of Al-Mughayyir in the central occupied West Bank. Blut decided to uproot 3,100 trees from the village after an Israeli settler was slightly injured in a shooting near the village, during the Palestinian citizens' response to daily attacks by settlers. Levy said: "For Blut, he has no obligation to defend anyone in the West Bank except the thugs of the settlement outposts." He added that "Blut ordered his soldiers to carry out collective punishment, which is a war crime, and therefore he is a war criminal who must be handed over to the International Criminal Court." He continued: "3,100 trees were cut down, most of them olive trees, now scattered on the ground." "It is impossible to be a lover of the land or a lover of others or even just a human being without being shocked by this sight, a few weeks before the olive picking season," Levy added. He continued: "Under the cover of the war in Gaza, Al-Mughayyir lost all its land, 43,000 dunums (a dunum equals one thousand square meters), except for the area of the village buildings." Also, "Blut allowed the establishment of 10 random outposts on the sides of the village, and allowed violent settlers to impose their terrorism on the residents, to the point that they are afraid to go out to cultivate their land," according to Levy. In response, Netanyahu's office claimed in a statement that "Haaretz does not allow freedom of expression, but allows relentless incitement." He added: "The Prime Minister strongly rejects the vile accusations leveled against the commander of the Central Command, Major General Avi Blut, and against the settlers in Judea and Samaria," meaning the occupied West Bank. He claimed that "these are anti-Semitic blood libels." On November 21, 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza. For his part, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said in a statement: "Haaretz continues to show its anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist face and incitement against army soldiers." He called on both Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi to "not be satisfied with condemnations (...) and to implement the government's decision and immediately cut ties with Haaretz." At the end of November 2024, the government decided to boycott the newspaper, stop subscriptions to it, and not publish advertisements with it, under the pretext of incitement against Israel and its army against the backdrop of the war on Gaza. Haaretz has repeatedly affirmed that Israel is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinian citizens in Gaza, within the ongoing war for nearly 23 months. Since the start of the war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, the Israeli government and settlers have intensified their aggression against the occupied West Bank, in preparation for annexing it to Israel. This step would end the possibility of implementing the two-state solution principle (Palestinian and Israeli), which is stipulated in resolutions issued by the United Nations. With American support, Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international appeals and orders from the International Court of Justice to stop it. The genocide has left 62,966 Palestinians dead and 159,266 injured, most of them children and women, more than 9,000 missing, hundreds of thousands displaced, and a famine that has killed 317 Palestinians, including 121 children, as of Thursday. For decades, Israel has occupied Palestine and territories in Syria and Lebanon, and refuses to withdraw from them and establish an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the borders before the 1967 war. Source: "Anadolu"