Bereaved Father Files Complaint Against Moshe Ya'alon for 'Endangering State Security'

Lawyer Itzik Bonzel, father of Staff Sergeant Amit Bonzel who fell in combat in Gaza, filed a complaint with Israeli police on Sunday against former Chief of Staff and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, following to his statements regarding the actions of the IDF in Gaza. Ya'alon claimed in an interview on Democrat TV that Israeli soldiers were engaging in “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza, accusing them of de facto genocide. Despite attempts by journalists to get him to retract these accusations during interviews given on Sunday morning, the former minister maintained his position.

“Ya'alon's hatred for Netanyahu has driven him crazy, but that's his problem. Our problem is that his words constitute incitement and an attack on state security,” Bonzel said, stressing that the Arab television channels are already using Ya'alon's statements as “proof” of a genocide perpetrated by the IDF in Gaza.

“Ya'alon's statements endanger our heroic soldiers, constitute incitement against the state and directly undermine national security,” the grieving father added.

Bonzel is now waiting for the police and the Shin Bet (Internal Security Service) to demonstrate that the application of the law is not selective: “I am waiting for them to prove to the people of Israel that they have not intending to target only right-wing activists, but also to arrest and question people like Ya'alon, [Ehud] Barak and others.” He called on police to immediately summon Ya'alon for questioning and keep him in detention until the end of legal proceedings.