Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared Friday that he wants to ban the left-wing leader and former deputy chief of staff, Yair Golan, from the reserves following the controversy caused by Golan's harsh remarks against the government's policy in Gaza.
"Due to Yair Golan's behavior, who irresponsibly and falsely accused IDF soldiers [...], I have decided to order the army not to call him up for reserve service, to prohibit him from wearing the IDF uniform and entering military bases," Katz stated.
"The last time I wore the IDF uniform was on Oct.7, 2023," the date of the unprecedented attack by Hamas that triggered the war, "when I went south to save civilians following your government's terrible security failure," Golan responded in a statement.
"I will continue to do everything for Israel and its security," he added.
Reserve major general and leader of the "Democrats" alliance, Golan caused a political storm by stating on the radio Tuesday: "A healthy country does not have a hobby of killing babies."
He made these comments in a scathing attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government's military policy, asserting that Israel was "on the verge of becoming a pariah state" and that the war in Gaza was conducted "for political goals."
"There is no limit to moral decadence," Netanyahu immediately reacted, with Golan facing attacks from both the government and centrist opposition.
A controversial figure since a 2016 speech appearing to draw a parallel between Israeli society and the rise of fascism in Europe during the 1930s, he was lauded after Oct. 7, 2023, having decided on his own to join the fight against Hamas on Israeli soil shortly after the surprise attack by Palestinian commandos.
According to a poll published Friday by the Maariv daily, Golan's "Democrats" would win 7 seats (out of 120) in Parliament if elections were held, compared to 11 in a public opinion survey conducted a week earlier before his remarks on the war.
Rubio condemns Iran's 'outrageous' attacks on Kuwait
