Yair Golan slams political handling of Gaza, aims to topple gov't, unite the Left

Former MK Yair Golan was interviewed on Ben Caspit and Amit Segal's program Meet the Press on Channel 12 where he expressed his opinion on the conduct of the Israel-Hamas war and talked about his return to politics.

At the beginning of the interview, Golan was asked what had changed for him since October 7.

"I have a strong and serious feeling that Israel has frozen any political or military initiative since 2009. This is unacceptable risk-taking," he answered. "Even when I was in uniform, I was fiercely against Hamas and claimed that the military action taken during Operation Protective Edge was far less than what should've been done.

"Military action should not stand alone; there must be political action to complement it. Since 2009, there has not been any movement from the political echelon in this regard. The main difference from a security point of view is that we did not isolate the Gaza Strip. Anyone who has dealt with terrorism understands that we need to isolate them. I urged the military at the time not to leave the Philadelphi Corridor, and to remain on the northern border. These two suggestions were rejected," he added.

Golan's political goals 

"It is detrimental to turn the war into a political issue. We are all fighting for the security of Israel," Golan insisted, criticizing certain elements on the Right of having a fascist worldview.

"In my eyes, there are two major political political goals," he explained. "One is to topple the government. The second is to unite the Israeli Left - and I intend to lead it. We will find the right political framework."

Golan ended the interview by stating, "I come to unite all of us into a significant political force. The mistake made in November 2022 will not be repeated. The State of Israel needs determined leadership with a liberal worldview."