President Yitzhak Herzog fiercely criticized former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon's claim that the IDF is committing "ethnic cleansing" in the Gaza Strip in a statement released today (Monday).
In his statement, the President said that "we repeatedly refute blood libels against us - including claims of genocide or ethnic cleansing which the IDF is ostensibly committing. These are complete lies. IDF soldiers don't murder and they don't carry out ethnic cleansing. Period."
He then went on to say that "the claim that IDF soldiers are committing genocide and ethnic cleansing is not only wrong and entirely detached from reality, but also harms out soldiers and commanders, and the defense and diplomatic efforts of the State of Israel in time of war. These are claims which I condemn and utterly reject."