By Zein Khalil
JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army has opened an investigation into a soldier who threatened mutiny.
The video of a masked reservist soldier demanding Defense Minister Yoav Gallant resigns is doing the rounds on social media.
The soldier is seen inside what appears to be a demolished house in the Gaza Strip, with slogans in Hebrew for the extremist Kach movement, classified as a terrorist organization in Israel, displayed in the background.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the video is for you," he says.
"We reservist soldiers do not intend to hand the keys over to any Palestinian authority. We do not intend to give the keys to Gaza to any entity — Hamas, Fatah or any other Arab entity,” he adds.
“Reservist soldiers are behind you and we want to win,” the soldier says.
“We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you have 100,000 reservist soldiers that are ready to give their lives for the people of Israel,” he further says.
“Yoav Gallant, you can’t win the war. Quit. You can’t win this war. You can’t command us,” he adds.
“We will listen to one leader, not the Minister of Defense, nor the Chief of Staff, we will only listen to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” he says.
The Israeli army denounced the video.
"The behavior captured in the video is a grave breach of the orders and principles of the Israeli army, and raises suspicion of committing criminal offenses,” said an army spokesman cited by daily Haaretz.
The spokesman added that an investigation has been launched into the incident.
- Cracks in leadership
For months, a seeming disagreement between Defense Minister Gallant and Prime Minister Netanyahu over the future governance of Gaza has been emerging.
In his recent statement, Gallant cautioned against the consequences of Israel's shift towards implementing military rule in Gaza.
He advocated for seeking a Palestinian alternative to Hamas that would garner Arab approval. However, his stance sparked fierce criticism from extremist ministers within the government, who called for his resignation.
Israel continues its brutal offensive on Gaza despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
More than 35,900 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 80,400 others injured since October following an attack by Hamas.
More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where more than a million displaced Palestinians had sought refuge.
* Writing by Ikram Kouachi