President Isaac Herzog
President Isaac HerzogChaim Goldberg/Flash90

President Isaac Herzog spoke this evening at the international premiere of the film “The Children of October 7th”, at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem.

Ahead of the screening, President Herzog responded implicitly to the accusations of former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon that the IDF has engaged in "ethnic cleansing" and "war crimes" in Gaza.

"We are in the midst of a difficult and painful campaign, facing immense security and diplomatic challenges. Our enemies are doing everything in their power to harm us, including by undermining our international standing through the use of biased and unilateral legal forums. This is exemplified, for instance, by the outrageous arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli leaders and arch-terrorists alike, as if they are one and the same," Herzog said.

He added, "Time and again, we repel blood libels against us, including claims of genocide or ethnic cleansing allegedly carried out by the IDF. These are outright lies. IDF soldiers do not murder, and they do not carry out ethnic cleansing. Period."

"The IDF is a moral army that operates according to the strictest international legal standards and humanitarian norms, with every unit accompanied by meticulous legal counsel," the President said.

"The State of Israel acts out of the right and duty of self-defense, a right granted to every sovereign nation. I urge anyone who wants to understand the situation in the northern Gaza Strip to visit, for example, Moshav Netiv HaAsara - which lost 21 of its residents in the horrific massacre of October 7 - and grasp the critical importance of combating the terrorist infrastructure in this region.

"The claim that IDF soldiers commit genocide or ethnic cleansing is not only false and entirely detached from reality but also harms our soldiers, commanders, and Israel's security and diplomatic efforts during wartime. These are accusations that I utterly condemn and reject," Herzog concluded.