![A view of banners placed at squares in Tehran, Iran on November 25, 2024, after ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his former DM Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza [Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/AA-20241125-36289069-36289063-IRAN_HANG_POSTERS_IN_TEHRAN_AFTER_ICCS_ARREST_WARRANTS_FOR_ISRAELS_NETANYAHU_AND_GALLANT.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “an enemy that poses a direct threat” to the occupation state’s security, Anadolu reported former army chief Dan Halutz saying yesterday.
“An enemy that poses a direct threat to Israel’s security, and his name is Benjamin Netanyahu,” Halutz told Israel’s Channel 12.
“The enemy should be subdued or imprisoned, not killed,” he added.
Netanyahu’s Likud Party denounced Halutz’s comments, calling them “serious incitement against democracy that encourages the calls from the extreme left over the assassination of the prime minister.”
“Halutz, the most failed chief of staff in the history of the IDF [occupation army], calls the prime minister an enemy who should be taken prisoner,” it said. “This is not freedom of expression.”
Halutz’s remarks came amid a wave of petitions by army soldiers and veterans demanding the return of Israeli captives from Gaza and halting the war on the Palestinian enclave.
The Israeli army renewed its assault on Gaza on 18 March, shattering a 19 January ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
Nearly 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, the majority women and children.
READ: Over 1,500 Israeli armoured corps troops demand end to Gaza war, return of hostages