Yair Golan has claimed that a pair of far-right ministers are “not Zionists” and “not Jews” after accusing them of politicising the deaths of five Charedi soldiers, announced by the military last night.
Staff Sergeant Meir Shimon Amar, 20, Sergeant Moshe Nissim Frech, 20, Staff-Sergeant Noam Aharon Musgadian, 20, Staff-Sergeant Moshe Shmuel Noll, 21, and Sergeant-Major Benyamin Asulin, 28, were killed when an explosive device was detonated as they entered a combat zone near Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.
All five men were from the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, one of the IDF’s first Charedi units, while 12 other battalion members were wounded as they came under fire while extracting casualties.
In the wake of the attack, Finance Minister Smotrich insisted that, while the deaths were tragic, Israel must continue its war in Gaza to avoid “far greater bloodshed” in the future.
Likewise, Ben-Gvir said: “We should not negotiate with those who kill our soldiers.”
The national security minister also called for “a complete siege, crush them militarily, encouraging [Palestinian] immigration and [Israeli] settlement”.
Both men are longtime advocates of continuing the war until Hamas is completely destroyed and expanding Israel’s borders through settlement.
Ben-Gvir in particular attracted criticism in January when he boasted of blocking several potential ceasefire and hostage return deals through his role in the cabinet.
However, the pair’s latest remarks sparked outrage from Golan, a former deputy chief of the staff for the IDF, who wrote on X: “Smotrich and Ben-Gvir heard about the death of five fighters and immediately jumped to dance on their blood.
"Just more and more death, more blood, more war for the sake of clinging to power and messianic delusions. They are not Zionists. Nor are they Jews.
"End the war. Bring back all the hostages. Save Israel.”
The row comes after Golan himself came under scrutiny for his comments regarding the IDF in May, with the leftist MK suggesting Israel was killing Palestinian babies “as a hobby”.
In an interview with public broadcaster Kan, he said: “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.
“And 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.
"This government is full of vengeful types with no morals and no ability to run a country in a time of crisis. This endangers our existence.”
The remarks were condemned by the governing coalition, which called them “blood libels” which would “add fuel to the fire of antisemitism in the world”.
Later attempting to clarify his comments, Golan claimed they were directed at ministers rather than the military, saying: “IDF fighters are heroes; government ministers are corrupt. The IDF is ethical, and the people are upright; the government is crooked. The war must be ended, the hostages returned, and Israel rehabilitated.”
