Netanyahu’s party proposes bill to strip opponents of military ranks after comments on killing Gaza children

ISTANBUL

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party submitted a bill to the Knesset (parliament) on Tuesday to strip army and security personnel who call for disobeying military orders of their ranks, local media said.

The move by Likud members of the Knesset follows comments by Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, who accused his country of killing Palestinian children in Gaza as a “hobby.”

Golan, a former general and leader of the Democrats Party, said early Tuesday that Israel is becoming a pariah state that kills children as “a hobby."

“A sane country does not fight against civilians, does not kill children as a hobby, and does not give itself the aim of expelling populations,” Golan told the public broadcaster KAN.

The unprecedented statements triggered furious reactions from Netanyahu and his government members, who continue to ignore international calls to end the brutal war on Gaza.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 53,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.