UPDATE – Netanyahu’s party seeks to strip opponents of military ranks after comments on killing Gaza children as 'hobby'

UPDATES WITH DETAILS, REVISES HEADLINE, ADDS CHANGES

By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party plans to submit a bill to the Knesset (parliament) to strip army and security personnel who call for disobeying military orders of their ranks, local media said.

The move by Knesset member Ariel Kellner of the Likud Party follows comments by Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, who accused Israel of killing Palestinian children in Gaza as a “hobby.”

The proposed bill seeks to revoke the ranks and privileges of senior army and security officers who call for not serving in the military, not volunteering, or defaming Israeli forces, the daily Maariv said.

“The proposed penalties target any current or former senior officer in the security forces who rebels against, calls for, or encourages refusal to enlist in the army, non-enlistment, the cessation of volunteering, the cessation of support by a state or states for Israel, or the imposition of sanctions by a state or states on Israel, its citizens, or its military or security units,” it said.

If enacted, the bill will apply to current or former senior officer who "negatively tarnishes the reputation of the Israeli security forces, either domestically or abroad," the newspaper said.

Golan, a former general and leader of the Democrats Party, said early Tuesday that Israel is becoming a pariah state that kills children as “a hobby."

“A sane country does not fight against civilians, does not kill children as a hobby, and does not give itself the aim of expelling populations,” Golan told the public broadcaster KAN.

The unprecedented statements triggered furious reactions from Netanyahu and his government members, who continue to ignore international calls to end the brutal war on Gaza.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, for his part, defended Golan, calling him a “brave, direct man.”

“If I had to go on a raid tonight or a tough political campaign tomorrow, I would prefer him by my side over all his detractors and condemners of the last few hours,” Barak said in a post on X.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 53,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

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