Political infighting tearing Israel apart, Israeli president warns

JERUSALEM

Israeli President Isaac Herzog warned Thursday that political infighting was tearing the country apart amid Tel Aviv’s deadly war on the Gaza Strip.

“The physical and verbal violence – towards the Attorney General, towards the head of the Shin Bet, towards the IDF (army) Chief of Staff, towards the Prime Minister – is simply horrifying,” Herzog said in a conference held in Herzliya, Tel Aviv.

“Don’t we understand that this is how you break up a country?” Herzog said, calling the incidents “absolute madness” that must be stopped.

Political tension has risen inside Israel amid protests over the government’s failure to return Israelis held captive in the Gaza Strip.

Families of the captives and opposition leaders accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sabotaging efforts to reach a prisoner swap deal with Palestinian factions in Gaza.

On Sunday, government members lashed out at Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, accusing her of leniency toward anti-government protesters.

“The attorney general is being called an enemy of the state and faces threats of dismissal day and night. Flares are launched near the prime minister’s residence, and accusations of treason are thrown at him. What the hell is happening to us?” Herzog said.

“There are those who are destroying the country, and I pledge that I will fight them with all my might,” the Israeli president said.

“I warn you – you are destroying the country. This madness must be stopped now.”

On Thursday, the International Court of Justice (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on Gaza following a Hamas attack last year, killing more than 44,000 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,000.

The second year of genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with figures and institutions labeling the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.

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

*Writing by Mohammad Sio