‘Israel is on the way to becoming a pariah state,’ says former military general Yair Golan
By Sally Abou AlJoud
20 May 2025
A former Israeli general and the leader of the country’s left-wing opposition party has said Israel risks becoming a “pariah state” and that 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”.
“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,” Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats party, told Israeli public radio in an interview on Tuesday.
Golan’s words drew a heated response from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and centre-right opposition leader Yair Lapid, but come at a time of growing international criticism of Israel as it continues its war on Gaza and blocks deliveries of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave.
On Monday, countries including the UK, France and Canada threatened Israel with “concrete actions” unless it halts its offensive and lifts its blockade of Gaza, which a UN panel last week said had left nearly half a million Palestinians facing starvation.
A ferocious Israeli bombardment on Tuesday killed more than 70 people in Gaza in just a few hours, as the UN warned that a lack of aid could kill 14,000 babies in 48 hours.
“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,” Golan said.
In response, Netanyahu accused the former military officer of “wild incitement” and of echoing “the most despicable antisemitic blood libels against IDF [Israel Defence Forces] soldiers and the State of Israel.”
More than 53,000 killed in Gaza
Israel has significantly escalated its war on Gaza over the past few days, intensifying ground operations and launching widespread air strikes across the enclave. These attacks have killed more than 300 people in just the last three days, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Israel has now killed more than 53,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly civilians, since the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023.
Tom Fletcher, the UN’s humanitarian affairs chief, told the BBC on Tuesday that up to 14,000 babies could die in Gaza within 48 hours if urgent aid does not reach them.
On Monday, Israel allowed just five aid trucks into the Strip, which UN officials saw as grossly inadequate, especially as two million people in Gaza face famine due to the ongoing blockade imposed by Israel since early March.
Meanwhile, ceasefire talks between the two sides have been deadlocked.
On Tuesday, Qatar‘s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, said that negotiations held in Doha have failed to make progress due to “fundamental differences” between Israel and Hamas.
Qatar has criticised Israel’s military actions in Gaza, saying they indicate a lack of interest in negotiating a ceasefire.
Al-Thani also criticised Israel’s aid restrictions, saying “it shouldn’t be acceptable to the international community. Yet we are seeing, unfortunately, that the Israeli government is carrying it out with impunity.”
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