Israeli army investigates video showing reservist calling for mutiny against defense minister

The Israeli military announced Saturday that it was opening an investigation after a video appeared on social media appearing to show a reservist calling for a mutiny against the country’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant.

The behavior documented in the video, which was shared on Telegram by Yair, the 32-year-old son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, constitutes a “serious violation of IDF orders and values, and constitutes suspicion of criminal offenses,” the Israeli army said. said in a statement.

“Regarding the incident, the head of the Military Advocate General Corps ordered the opening of an investigation by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Military Police,” the statement added. “In parallel with the investigation, given the seriousness of the incident, the Chief of Staff has ordered an immediate command dialogue at all levels.”

The video shows a man in military fatigues holding what appears to be an automatic rifle and standing in the rubble of what appears to be a partially destroyed building. Blue graffiti is behind him and what appear to be scorch marks are scattered across the ceiling.

His nose and mouth were covered by a black mask as he delivered his message, which he said was aimed at Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We, the reserve soldiers, have no intention of handing over the keys to any Palestinian Authority,” he said, adding that they would not cede power in Gaza to Hamas or Fatah. , who govern the occupied West Bank.

Speaking directly to Gallant, he said: “You can’t win a war. Resign. You cannot win the war, you cannot command us,” adding: “We will listen to only one leader, and it is not the Minister of Defense, nor the Chief of Staff, it is the Prime Minister. Think carefully about who you plan to hand over the keys to after this.

Later in the video, he told Gallant to “change your record, change the record and understand that we want to win, otherwise we’ll just go with the prime minister.” Only with him who decides that we must win will we follow him. Here I tell you, did you want a military coup?

“We are the reservists who can no longer return home,” he added. “We will show you what a decision is, we will show you what a victory is, and we will show you how real Jews win. »

NBC News has not independently verified the video and has requested comment from Netanyahu’s office and Gallant.

Addressing this message in another Telegram article, Yair Netanyahu wrote: “In light of the reactions to the reserve video circulating on the networks, let us settle the question of what a military rebellion is: an army which announces that in times of conflict, it will only obey the government and the Prime Minister is not a rebel but on the contrary, it is an army that obeys the law.

A member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet and also of his conservative Likud party, Gallant, 65, became one of the army’s top commanders after beginning his service as a frogman in the navy.

But he hasn’t always agreed with Netanyahu, who fired him last year after Gallant broke ranks to call for a halt to plans to curb the power of the judiciary amid protests widespread across Israel. After hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in spontaneous protests, Gallant was reinstated.

Two days after Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, Gallant faced widespread criticism after suggesting that the price Gaza would pay “will change reality for generations” and that Israel would impose a total blockade with a ban food and fuel imports as part of a peace agreement. fight against “human animals”.

Last week, Gallant appeared to challenge Netanyahu again when he said the prime minister should not try to establish military or civilian rule in Gaza and instead support the Palestinian regime.

As recently as February, Netanyahu said Israel must exercise security control over all land west of the Jordan River, which would include the territory of any future Palestinian state, a move supported by Israeli lawmakers .

The video marks the end of a bad week for both men after ICC chief prosecutor Karim AA Khan said he was filing requests for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant as well as the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, military leader Mohammed Deif and political leader Ismail Haniyeh. .

The decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders was denounced by President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Then on Friday, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to immediately cease its military attack on the southernmost town of Rafah. The UN’s top court has cited “immediate risk” to Palestinians, noting that more than 800,000 people have been forced to flee Rafah since Israeli forces began ground operations in an area that had once been declared a of security.

Israel has indicated it will not accept a court ruling ending the war against Hamas. Netanyahu was meeting with legal advisers to review the decision, an Israeli official told NBC News.

Hamas, meanwhile, welcomed the ruling, saying it expected the ICJ to issue a similar ruling for the entire Gaza Strip and not just Rafah.