Following the selection of the prime minister's son, Yesh Atid and opposition parties backed away from the agreement between the parties, and the vote on Yair Netanyahu's appointment was postponed by two weeks.

"A corrupt cross-party political deal to appoint Yair Netanyahu as head of the advocacy and diaspora division in the WZO is a value collapse, corruption and nepotism," wrote Yashar! party leader and former IDF Chief Gadi Eisenkot. "A person who didn't return to Israel in its difficult hour, didn't serve in reserves throughout the period and spreads conspiracy theories against the State of Israel. Another characteristic of the government of negligence and evasion. Herzl is rolling in his grave."

Democrats chairman Yair Golan also addressed the storm and wrote, "We were shocked to discover Likud's intention to appoint Yair Netanyahu to a senior position in Zionist institutions. This is a corrupt and disgraceful appointment and another step in the destruction of Israel's national institutions. Yair Netanyahu, a person who dedicated his life to incitement and division, is not worthy of representing the Jewish people or enjoying status and public funds. We will not cooperate with the despicable appointment and will do everything to block the mafia-like takeover by the Netanyahu family."

Yesh Atid claims they were surprised by the attempt to appoint the prime minister's son and withdrew from the agreement. Yair Lapid wrote on social media, "Won't happen. Period."

 Zohar wrote a response to the firestorm on social media and tried to justify the demand to appoint Netanyahu's son. "For years, all left-wing representatives have worked to appoint family members and associates to positions in national institutions, and suddenly when it comes to Likud and Netanyahu, it becomes a storm," Zohar wrote. "This is yet another part of the personal persecution campaign by the left and the media against the prime minister and his family. Here's another repulsive display of malicious hypocrisy unlike any other against Yair Netanyahu, who simply wanted to do Zionist advocacy in the diaspora for the Jewish people."

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Video: Netanyahu in the Knesset on May 28, 2025 / Credit: Knesset Channel

"We eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists, [Hamas military wing chief] Muhammed Deif, [Hezbollah chief ] Hassan Nasrallah, [Hamas' Gaza leader who attacked Israel on Oct. 7] Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Sinwar, and seized the Rafah and Morag crossings. In the last two days, we've been executing a dramatic plan toward the complete defeat of Hamas. We're taking control of their food distribution and money machine. This is what destroys their governing capabilities. That's what we promised."

Member of Knesset Naama Lazimi accused him, saying, "While our people were being massacred, you went to get made up. In contrast, Yair Golan flew to the massacre site and saved people you abandoned,"" referring to Netanyahu's supposed actions on Oct. 7.  MK Ofer Cassif was removed from the plenum podium after accusing the Israeli Defense Forces of bombing children in Gaza.

The "40 signatures" debate, marked by chaos and shouting, occurred amid the ongoing war and conscription crisis. MK Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beytenu, fiercely attacked Netanyahu, stating, "You fought to appoint Yair Golan as chief of staff, but you failed. You're beaming with joy over his remarks because it distracts from your failures." Lieberman promised, "A state inquiry commission will be established," adding, "Read my lips – you won't succeed in delaying the elections."

Lieberman further accused Netanyahu of exploiting Yair Golan's statements, saying, "I saw you celebrating, glowing with happiness. It lets you divert attention from the hostages, the looting of humanitarian aid entering Gaza, and the direct US-Iran talks – where we're simply ignored." Recalling past meetings, Lieberman noted that in March 1996, after deadly attacks, Netanyahu rejected Shimon Peres' envoy Arieh Deri's attempt to delay elections, saying, "Look at those crooks."

Lieberman concluded by criticizing Netanyahu's past claims about the Arab public, stating, "You boasted you invested more in them than any Israeli government. So stop the incitement, stop the divisiveness. Your lust for power has driven you mad. You've lost it. Your legacy – you'll forever be the most failed, cynical, and terrible leader in the history of the Jewish people."

Netanyahu took the podium, responding, "I look at the opposition's debate title, 'Complete failure of the government to achieve war goals.' Have you lost  your minds? Are you living on Earth or another planet?" He continued, "You spoke of zero achievements. I want to tell you what many in Israel know – in Israel's wars, never have there been so many achievements on so many fronts. On the morning of October 7, many among us feared we wouldn't recover from the heavy blow. But I'll tell you exactly what I said – just two days after the attack, I told local authority heads: We're going to change the face of the Middle East. And that's exactly what we've done."

At the end of his speech, Knesset member Gilad Kariv approached the Prime Minister with an Israeli flag map, tried to attach it to Netanyahu, but security guards pushed him away.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid responded and said: "One sentence you said caught my attention – 'Look where we were and see where we are now.' Let's ask a simple question – every Israeli citizen should ask themselves: What is my situation today? What was my situation before you began your rule? In the previous government? What is my situation now – security-wise, economically, in the country where I live?"

Lapid continued: "What did you have compared to two and a half years ago? The State of Israel was secure. The borders were secure. There were warnings – so we acted immediately. No soldier was injured. You are not the Prime Minister of Revival – you are the Prime Minister of October 7."

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During an interview on Kan radio, Golan said, "Israel is on its way to becoming an outcast nation among peoples, like South Africa once was – if it doesn't return to behaving like a sane country. And a sane country doesn't wage war against civilians, doesn't kill babies as a hobby, and doesn't set goals of population displacement."

Golan further stated, "This government is full of characters who have nothing whatsoever to do with Judaism, full of vengeful characters, lacking morals and lacking the ability to manage a country during an emergency. And this thing is dangerous to our very existence."

The comments triggered an immediate response from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who strongly rebuked Golan, "I firmly condemn Yair Golan's wild incitement against our heroic soldiers and against the State of Israel. The IDF is the most moral army in the world, and our soldiers are fighting in a battle for our very existence."

Netanyahu continued, "Golan, who encourages refusal to serve and in the past compared Israel to Nazis while in uniform, has now reached a new low by claiming that Israel 'kills babies as a hobby.' While we are managing a multi-front war and leading complex diplomatic efforts to free our hostages and defeat Hamas, Golan and his friends on the radical Left are echoing the most despicable antisemitic blood libels against IDF soldiers and the State of Israel. There is no limit to moral decay."

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett responded with a brief but pointed statement, saying, "The one who murders babies is Hamas and only Hamas."

Chairman of the National Unity centrist party Benny Gantz demanded that Golan withdraw his comments and apologize to IDF soldiers, "IDF soldiers do not 'kill babies' as a hobby. These statements are not just outrageous, false and extreme, but they also endanger the freedom of our heroic fighters before international law."

Yisrael Beytenu party chairman, MK Avigdor Liberman, joined the chorus of condemnation, saying, "The IDF is the most moral army in the world, and any such false statement against it harms our soldiers and the security of the state." Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar warned about international repercussions, saying, "What Golan said will certainly fuel the fire of antisemitism in the world."

Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer delivered a particularly harsh rebuke, "The claim that the State of Israel 'kills babies as a hobby' is a reprehensible lie and a severe degradation of the IDF's combat morality and the character of the State of Israel. The State of Israel, through IDF fighters, is fighting a cruel enemy that burned, massacred, and raped the elderly, women, children, and babies."

Sofer added, "I regret that there are those who choose to point an accusing finger at their own country, especially in this difficult time, while ignoring the cruel reality that Israel is dealing with. Yair Golan's words are an absolute lie and a prize for our enemies. People like Golan have no place in Israeli public life."

Minister of Communications Dr. Shlomo Karhi didn't mince words, "Yair Golan is a terrorist. A terrorist in the efforts to achieve the war's goals. A terrorist in the security of IDF fighters. A terrorist in Israeli democracy." Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir was equally harsh, "It seems that Yair Golan took the message sheet from the Hamas spokesperson and adopted it for himself, as Golan's only hobby has always been spreading antisemitic blood libels against the State of Israel. Yair, you should be ashamed!"

In response to the backlash, Democratic party chairman, the former major general defended his remarks, saying "We've already tried Gantz's method of sucking up to Netanyahu, Smotrich, and Ben-Gvir – and it failed. The intention in my remarks was clear: This war is the fulfillment of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich's fantasies. And if we allow them to fulfill them, we will become an outcast state. It's time we had a backbone of tempered steel – we must stand up for our values as a Zionist, Jewish and democratic state. IDF fighters are heroes, government ministers are corrupt. The IDF is moral, and the people are straight while the government is crooked."

Golan concluded, "The war must be ended, the hostages returned, and Israel rehabilitated."

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Yet this longing for normalcy emboldened not peace-seekers, but rather our Palestinian attackers. It signaled to them that we sovereign Jews may be compelled to surrender entirely. And as our attackers made it clear that Israel giving them land would not lead to peace, many Israelis abandoned the Left's approach. They now sought to spare themselves and their loved ones from what they had come to deem a dangerous delusion.

Having detached itself from the imperative of self-preservation, the Israeli Left became marginalized. But while much of its voter pool evaporated, its desperate longing for normalcy did not. The only thing that changed was how the Left came to frame its longing.

Before, the Left framed its longing as our only chance to achieve peace. After peace processes blew up in our faces, the Left repackaged its longing as our only chance at democracy. A dire warning over our essence replaced the failed promise of peace. Irrespective of peace, they argue, if we rule over millions of non-citizens, we forgo our status as a democracy.

Over the years, mainstream Israel learned to ignore the marginal Left on the topic of peace. The vast majority of Palestinians made this quite easy. They made it clear that they would not supply peace in return for concessions. But today, mainstream Israelis cannot afford to ignore the Left's repackaged longing for normalcy. Even a Left without political teeth can encourage foreign liberal audiences, who long for normalcy no less, to pressure Israel from the outside.

When former member of Knesset Yair Golan tells The Guardian that he is "not sure whether Israel right now is truly a democratic state… [because] the Right today in Israel is people who think we can annex millions of Palestinians," we should not dismiss this as Left-wingers venting to each other. Rather, we must confront such words head-on.

If a peaceful person is attacked with violence, does defending themselves mean they are no longer peaceful? Of course not. They maintain the label 'peaceful' because they are peaceful when given the chance to be. The same reasoning applies to a country that strives to be democratic. Such a country does not lose its democratic status when it rules over people who seek to destroy it.

The Jews whom Zionism made sovereign are overwhelmingly committed to democratic principles. We accepted the United Nations Partition Plan, which would have created two new countries from land that was under interim British rule. Partition would have preserved everyone's homes and would not have stymied anyone's democratic rights.

It was never implemented because opponents of Jewish sovereignty rejected it. They considered any Jewish sovereignty in their midst to be an affront to their own sense of dominance. So, under the banner of 'Palestine,' they waged a fateful struggle against such sovereignty. Far from accepting partition, proponents of this struggle promised a war of annihilation, and to this day, they try to eliminate Israel. They insist that they will kick, scream, stab, and shoot ("by any means necessary") until someone pacifies their rage by forcing the Jews to surrender.

When people attack Israel, it is right and wise for Israel to defend itself adequately, including through military rule. That Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip do not constitute an independent country is not an inevitable undemocratic feature of Israel's existence. It is rather the outcome of others' rage over Israel's existence.

Israel need not enfranchise those who seek to destroy it and kill its people. If certain individuals or groups cannot tolerate Jews being sovereign in their homeland, that should be their own problem. It is not on Jews or on anyone else to placate them. The moral onus is on those who are kicking and screaming and stabbing and shooting to stop. Adequate self-defense is good and right, and makes one responsible, not undemocratic.

People, countries, and world orders that insist unconditionally on normalcy in the name of liberalism will lose to illiberal attackers. If liberalism is to survive against illiberal attackers, it has to be willing to be abnormal when pushed against a wall.

Josh Warhit runs Warhit Media Services. He made aliyah from the United States in 2012 and served in the Nahal Brigade (infantry) in the Israel Defense Forces.

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The Israel Police has launched a probe into the new leader of the Labor Party, Yair Golan, for statements that might potentially constitute incitement, although it appears that they were taken out of context.

In a video released a month ago, Golan – who won a landslide victory Tuesday, having garnered 95% of his party members' votes – was heard calling for "widespread civil disobedience," such as refusal to do reserve duty, to exert pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. When his remarks drew reactions from the audience, Golan clarified, "I'm not saying now that this is the right move."

הוא אומר פה במפורש: ״לא עכשיו לא עכשיו״
חברים הביביסטים בישלו דייסה הוציאו מהקשר כי למה לא אם אפשר pic.twitter.com/P6V1ZqDGd7

— לירי בורק שביט (@lirishavit) May 29, 2024

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to launch a criminal investigation against Golan, accusing him of "blatantly inciting insubordination – at a time when the State of Israel is at war."

Rejecting such allegations, Golan wrote on Twitter that they were "cheap manipulation" by the "poison machine" backing the "historically failed prime minister."

"We are calling for a large, broad, and continuous non-violent civil protest that will bring about a change of government, elections, the return of the hostages, the return of the evacuees to their homes, and an end to the existential war of the Netanyahu regime," he said.

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Meretz MK Yair Golan apologized Thursday for calling the settlers of Homesh outpost in Judea and Samaria "subhuman."

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In an interview with Channel 12 News, Golan said, "I regret the remark, which may have included a problematic wording [as it was said] in an emotional state and out of anger."

Golan's comments against the residents of the illegal settlement sparked outrage from across the political spectrum, with right-wing lawmakers calling for his dismissal and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett saying the remark "bordered on a blood libel."

Nevertheless, despite apologizing for the wording, Golan, who is deputy economy minister, stood by his criticism of Homesh residents. 

"The problem isn't my remarks, but that there is a gang that systematically and consistently harms innocent people and IDF soldiers," he said. "Perhaps one can say they are 'despicable thugs.'

"This is the bitter truth, even if [people] don't like to hear it."

Golan is not the first lawmaker to have sparked furor with remarks concerning Homesh. 

In December, Public Security Minister Omer Barlev was lambasted by bereaved families and right-wing lawmakers for discussing perceived settler violence against Palestinians in Judea and Samaria with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland.

Shortly after, Homesh resident Yehuda Dimantman was killed by Palestinian terrorists, which far-right-wing MKs said was the result of incitement by Barlev.

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Now in his mid-50s, Golan still looks like he's capable of taking an entire unit and leading it into an urban part of Gaza, because that is the only way of confronting the Hamas problem. There are four areas in which he is harshly critical of Israel: the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; the way the IDF is handling the Hamas threat; the bureaucracy's betrayal of Israel's citizens; and what is taking place in the historical-national sphere.

Recently, Golan joined the Jerusalem Institute of Strategy and Security and took part in writing a document formulating a diplomatic-defense outlook that was presented to Netanyahu. But he is not limiting himself to statements; this week, it appeared that he would soon make a final decision to enter politics. He also sat down with Israel Hayom to discuss his views on politics and defense, and where they intersect.

Q: You told TV interviewer Ilana Dayan that you're interested in public life. Is that happening?

"I'm jumping in, and I'm talking with a lot of people. I still haven't made up my mind how I'll do it, and what the right way to do it is."

Q: And when you see the political mess in real time - does that whet your appetite?

"Yes. It only makes me 'hungrier.' I'm serious."

Q: Your colleague, former GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Tal Russo [who joined the Labor Party], is projecting a sense of complete confusion. He said he was learning about it.

"That's Tal. He's cautious. What is there to understand? There was an election, and in a functioning world, If things were normal [here], the two big parties would have set up a coalition that nothing could bring down. 70 MKs, a solid majority that would also represent the people of Israel. The ideological differences between the Likud and Blue and White are slim to none. In a functioning world, a centrist coalition would have been formed, neither Right nor Left, which would do things that most of the Israeli people want. Without the diversions from the haredim or the extreme Right.

"All that needed to happen was for the elected prime minister, still Benjamin Netanyahu, to say, 'People, if I'm indicted, I promise to resign. Then we would have had a great coalition."

Golan acknowledges: "I'm a rookie when it comes to political commentary. We talk about democracy, about the will of the people. The government should express that will, at least that's how I see it. A bloc comprising of the Likud and Blue and White would number 70 [seats] is the best expression of the will of the people … I can guess what that sector wants and needs, and I can say with certainty that we can think about it together."

"We could take the good people in the Likud, and there are good people there, and the good people in Blue and White – and there are those too – and establish a great government. Because there would be only two big parties, there would probably be fewer ministers, and we'd save a lot of money that will probably be wasted in the next government. Everyone in that bloc understands that we won't make peace with the Palestinians by tomorrow. But they're sober folks who won't say, 'Let's attack Iran.' Take it slow. That bloc could formulate economic, social, and educational policy."

When asked to characterize the politics of today, Golan says, "politics has never been nice" and that "Bibi didn't invent dirty tricks."

Still, he says, Netanyahu's political tactics are his primary complaint about the prime minister.

"He is establishing a politics of identity, which radicalizes itself. This is a type of politics that kills any ability to carry on a dialogue. This is a type of politics that deals less with content and more with images and labels. Netanyahu is to a large extent responsible for these past politics."

Q: With the difference being under Netanyahu, Israel's situation is better than it has ever been.

"If you look at Netanyahu's decisions over his years in office, you won't find too many bad ones. All in all, he's a cautious man … His decisions are reasonable. But he is responsible for identity politics, which is eating at us all. Don't brush it off as a global trend. There was an economic crisis in 2008, and we were smart enough then not to be part of the global trend. Why when it comes to politics shouldn't we say to ourselves – let's not be like the rest of the world?"

Three years ago, Golan addressed another major concern of his in a speech he gave on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day: the deteriorating relations between Netanyahu and the defense establishment after the affair of Elor Azaria, a former IDF soldier who was convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting an immobilized Palestinian terrorist in Hebron.

Q: It seems that after Avigdor Lieberman was appointed defense minister, the clashes between the defense establishment and the prime minister reached their peak. It was as if there was a need to topple Netanyahu.

"That didn't happen."

Q: You were speaking from the heart, without any outside calculations?

"There were no political considerations."

Q: That was a disappointment - it was clear after the speech that you could not be appointed IDF chief of staff.

"What can I say? I ask myself, what did I say that awakened so much public discourse? It wasn't the comparison to the Holocaust. I didn't make the comparison. I cast doubt on the country's leadership. I said that leaders must show responsibility. The IDF has seen cases of violation of [the principle of] purity of arms that were much worse than what Elor Azaria did. I remember myself as a youth, in 1978 – the Pinto affair. How can the two be compared?"

The Pinto affair Golan is referring to took place during Operation Litani, when Lt. Daniel Pinto murdered a few Lebanese prisoners and threw their bodies into a well. The defense establishment embraced him, and his marriage to a major general's daughter helped matters. He was tried for his actions, and Judge Meir Shamgar assigned him a reduced sentence. One of the paratroop commanders, Yoav Hirsch, who reported the murders, was deemed a snitch by his comrades and became an outcast.

"When it comes to Elor Azaria, I'm talking about the national aspect of the case," Golan explains. "It was clear that a wrongful action was carried out. With Mr. Pinto, who was the best of the best and an outstanding officer and good-looking, he did what he did and there was never a question about whether or not the IDF would investigate. It was obvious. But what happened with Azaria? Did we lose our minds? Why were all these politicians flocking to defend him? Netanyahu should have stood up and said, people, stop. Something happened, a soldier is suspected of acting illegally, and I'm asking you – drop it and let the IDF handle it in an orderly manner. What was he [Netanyahu] doing, calling Azaria's father?"

Q: He also told Azaria's father the IDF would handle the matter.

"There is a longing for Israel to return to normal. To stop with the righteousness on one hand and not be violent or condescending on the other."

Golan says Azaria was given a fair trial. "By the way, he got the punishment he was expected to receive because ultimately, there's no such charge as 'intent to commit murder. He found himself in a situation, and there was a storm of emotion. He didn't get up in the morning and say, today I'm going to kill someone," Golan says.

"The way I see it, in the Azaria affair – like in others – the leadership did not conduct itself responsibly. An attack on morality is an attack on the justness of the path. When we go into areas under dispute, and it doesn't matter if it's in Lebanon or Nablus or Jabaliya, I want to know that when all the political debate is over, I'm doing the right thing, that there is a government that makes the decisions, which are based on an idea, which is moral and well-intentioned.

"Then I can ask things of a soldier who comes from a left-wing or right-wing or religious background. Here, there are no 'backgrounds.' Here, we represent the government. But the moment the army becomes 'left-wing and defeatist,' the courts become 'destroyers of Israel' and the chief justice of the Supreme Court is 'not a Zionist' – the day isn't far off when a soldier will say he cannot serve here."

"Identity politics is destroying good governance. It's the most dangerous politics of all. Our politicians are playing with fire. We don't live in surroundings in which we won't encounter the toughest, most bitter issues sooner or later."

Q: Are you saying that we'll find ourselves in an all-out war and there will be rifts that we cannot overcome?

"It doesn't need to be a full-scale war. A new outbreak of violence in Judea and Samaria is enough to require a lot of people to be sent in. If the polarization continues, the attitude of 'not our problem,' then I'm warning you..."

In the end, people are judged by their actions, and there are very few commanders who have operated with Golan's level of efficiency to ensure the security of settlers in Judea and Samaria and against terrorism in general. His combat past has left a hole in his elbow, and two or three more in his other arm, below the shoulder. But the extreme Right has a tendency not to forget or learn, and the provocations against Golan when he was being considered for chief of staff apparently stem from an old grudge against him for having served as commander of the Judea and Samaria Brigade during the 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip and four settlements in northern Samaria, as well as the evacuation of the Amona outpost in 2006.

"Public life is a life of defects. The policies I fought for my whole life and risked my life for weren't always the most just or most correct," Golan says.

"Let's say that we could have left South Lebanon five years earlier. Until 1988, Iran wasn't bothering anyone and was busy fighting an existential war against Iraq. After that, it got back on its feet, and the Taif Agreement [ending the civil war in Lebanon] was signed in 1989. Obviously, Israel's withdrawal from the security zone in southern Lebanon was a huge victory for Hezbollah, which influenced [PLO leader Yasser] Arafat. Arafat's spurning Ehud Barak's peace proposal at Camp David was absolutely related to the sense that Israeli society was very weak. He believed the nonsense that [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah was telling him. I think that if we were still in the security zone, Hezbollah would be stronger and would have graduated to missiles."

According to Golan, the "turning point" came in 2003, when the Iranians realized that the Americans had crushed their main enemy, the Iraqis, and had no further reason to fear what was happening on their border.

"Then Iran started wondering about acquiring influence in Iraq after it already had Lebanon and [Syrian President Bashar] Assad," who Golan says "admires" Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Nasrallah.

Golan claims that the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran was a trigger for the Iranians to enter Syria.

"By the end of 2012, Iran had instructed Hezbollah to stop messing with the Jews. 'The Shebaa Farms, Mount Dov – stop that nonsense and don't open a new front against Israel. There is one goal – save Assad.' That wasn't related to the nuclear deal. Nasrallah didn't want to go into Syria; he was really taking orders from the Iranians."

Q: There was a view among top defense officials that Israel should make peace with Syria by offering them the Golan Heights, thereby removing them from the 'axis of evil.' Based on what you're saying, that was never realistic.

"That's nonsense, evil-spirited nonsense. I object to any compromise on the Golan Heights with every fiber of my being, not even an inch of it. Don't confuse yourself with deals. The only thing we should be worried about is having to control a foreign population. There is no foreign population on the Golan, so Israel should stay there, full stop. The fact that Katzrin, in the last 15 years, has only reached a population of 7,700 is a historic missed opportunity."

This week, Golan received a phone call from Labor party leader Avi Gabbay, inviting him to run for head of Labor.

"Personally, it's a good fit for me," Golan says, adding that he sees the mandatory three-year wait period for senior IDF commanders before they are allowed to enter politics as "corruption."

"Why can a person take a senior position in the Treasury immediately after retiring from a Chinese firm, with no limitations, but army officers have to recuse themselves for three years? I think a year is fine. But three? Am I a criminal?"

Q: How do you explain that the law allows a prime minister to continue serving if under trial or indictment?

"There are norms. We already had a prime minister who went to prison. When he was indicted, he was no longer prime minister. He went home."

Q: He went home because the political system didn't want him to stay in power.

"It's Bibi who said that a prime minister who is indicted should leave office, not me."

Q: What rank did you hold when the Oslo Accords were signed?

"In 1993 I was the head of operations for the division. [Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin would come to approve plans."

Q: Did you have political opinions, or as an officer did you think you had to carry out orders as a professional? 

"There were terrorist attacks. We asked why the peace process wasn't being stopped. We didn't understand. You'd say, why am I giving up Bethlehem when I see that in Nablus Arafat is arresting people and then letting them go two days later? It didn't make sense. I was a lieutenant colonel at the time, and it was a time of vision – we were going to bring peace, so we had to say goodbye. Clear borders. From an emotional standpoint, it failed. When it comes to the exit from Gaza, while this might not be a popular opinion, it strengthened Israel's security."

When asked if at an earlier stage of his military career he ever imagined that the Palestinians in Gaza would be capable of firing rockets at most of Israel, Golan replied: "I think that the [2005] disengagement from Gaza was very bad in the way we implemented it. But do I miss accompanying convoys carrying bombs to Gush Katif? Does anyone miss chasing rock-throwers at al-Shati [refugee camp]? In Jabaliya? In the first five years of the Second Intifada, 147 Israelis were killed in Gaza. Since 2005, 121 Israelis have been killed there, including all the soldiers who died in all military operations."

Q: Like in the Yom Kippur War, people dismissed the Arabs' engineering capabilities, and never thought they would be able to manufacture and shoot rockets. Do you see that as an existential threat?

"An existential threat – certainly not. There's no need to exaggerate. The fact that we are fighting in Gaza badly and not doing what needs to be done is a different story. We had three opportunities to bring it to order, and we gave up. We're afraid."

Q: Of casualties? How many soldiers' lives would an operation like that cost? 500?

"We're afraid to fight. We're afraid of casualties. It wouldn't be 500 dead. We give the enemy too much credit. Fighting in Gaza doesn't come without a cost – fighting in an urban setting is fighting on the ground. It needs to be done, because it's what we need to do."

Q: And what would follow a ground incursion?

"The equation is imaginary. There is a public aspect – the assumption is that if we go into Gaza, we'll be bogged down there for years, is wrong."

Q: So we could launch an incursion that would take X time, and then withdraw.

"Right. And I don't understand what's happening. The same thing happened before Operation Defensive Shield [in 2002] – we didn't leave those Palestinian cities just so we could go back. But there are terrorists in those cities that led to terrorists blowing themselves up in our own cities, so we had to go back. We went in, and came back out. Today, they are the Palestinians' responsibility."

Q: What is happening to the IDF's ground fighting abilities?

"First of all, incursions into Palestinian cities took place only after Israel endured an insufferable number of casualties [from terrorist attacks] and the event that changed everything was the Park Hotel bombing. Something else was that during the ongoing fighting, we gained a lot of experience. Villages, towns, after that, in cities and refugee camps. I took the Nour al-Shams camp in Tulkarem before Defensive Shield. Bit by bit, we built up our capabilities … when we fought correctly, we knew how to deliver painful blows to Hezbollah, as well. And these weren't the IDF's elite units. We are presenting ourselves with a threat. We're glorifying the enemy."

Q: Who is responsible for that? The IDF?                     

"The army is wrong. The professional responsibility rests with the IDF. If in Operation Protective Edge the chief of staff had said, we need to go into Gaza, I would have known how to do it. I think the government would have approved an incursion. It's like going to the doctor –you don't tell him what to do, because he's the one who understands. The government can't tell the army, 'This is what you need to do.' Because the army is the one that knows.

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Golan, who is reportedly thinking about going into politics, sees four issues that Israel must address: the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; the way the IDF is handling the Hamas threat; the bureaucracy's betrayal of Israel's citizens; and what is taking place in the historical-national sphere.

"There was a period of hope for peace in Israel. We all know that's no longer realistic," Golan tells Israel Hayom. "The peace narrative has been replaced by Netanyahu's narrative of fear. Now we need to transition to a narrative of self-assurance and pride."

Golan thinks the political entanglements that led to a decision to hold a new election were unnecessary.

"If things were normal [here], the two big parties would have set up a coalition that nothing could bring down. 70 MKs, a solid majority that would also represent the people of Israel. The ideological differences between the Likud and Blue and White are slim to none. In a functioning world, a centrist coalition would have been formed, neither Right nor Left, which would do things that most of the Israeli people want. Without the diversions from the haredim or the extreme Right.

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"All that needed to happen was for the elected prime minister, still Benjamin Netanyahu, to say, 'People, if I'm indicted, I promise to resign. Then we would have had a great coalition," he says.

Golan says that "politics has never been nice" and that "Bibi didn't invent dirty tricks."

Still, he says, Netanyahu's political tactics are his primary complaint about the prime minister.

"He is establishing a politics of identity, which radicalizes itself. This is a type of politics that kills any ability to carry on a dialogue. This is a type of politics that deals less with content and more with images and labels. Netanyahu is to a large extent responsible for these past politics."

Golan also touches on the trial of former IDF soldier Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter for shooting an immobilized Palestinian terrorist in an incident in Hebron that sparked controversy not only in Israel but worldwide.

"It was a fair trial. By the way, he got the punishment he was expected to receive because ultimately, there's no such charge as 'intent to commit murder,'" Golan says.

"We are debating about how to move forward to a place that is good for the country. I need to know that the intentions are pure. Then I can ask things of a soldier who comes from a left-wing or right-wing or religious background. Here, there are no 'backgrounds.' Here, we represent the government. But the moment the army becomes 'left-wing and defeatist,' the courts become 'destroyers of Israel' and the chief justice of the Supreme Court is 'not a Zionist' – the day isn't far off when a soldier will say he cannot serve here," Golan warns.

When asked if at an earlier stage of his military career he ever imagined that the Palestinians in Gaza would be capable of firing rockets at most of Israel, Golan replied: "I think that the [2005] disengagement from Gaza was very bad in the way we implemented it. But do I miss accompanying convoys carrying bombs to Gush Katif? Does anyone miss chasing rock-throwers at al-Shati [refugee camp]? In Jabaliya? In the first five years of the Second Intifada, 147 Israelis were killed in Gaza. Since 2005, 121 Israelis have been killed there, including all the soldiers who died in all military operations."

On the question of why Israel doesn't invade Gaza, Golan says, "They're afraid to fight. Afraid of casualties. It wouldn't mean 500 dead. We give the enemy too much credit. Fighting in Gaza doesn't come without a cost – fighting in an urban setting is fighting on the ground," he explains.

And what would follow a ground incursion?

"The equation is imaginary. There is a public aspect – the assumption is that if we go into Gaza, we'll be bogged down there for years, is wrong."

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