WHEN LOOKING AT VIDEOS OF THE UKRAINE WAR, ONE CAN ONLY CONCLUDE THE RUSSIANS ARE COMMITING WAR CRIMES

Israeli Ministers Accuse Russia of War Crimes in Ukraine

But some, including Prime Minister Bennett, continue to maintain a ‘balanced’ approach to the war in Europe

 

Israel Today Staff

April 5, 2022

 

 

Israel Minister of Health Nitzan Horowitz (center) at the Israeli field hospital in Ukraine, where he accused Russia of war crimes

 

In as far as he speaks for the Israeli government, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz on Monday effectively accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine.

 

The Israeli medical team on the ground in western Ukraine

 

Horowitz said that his visit to the Israeli field hospital established west of Lviv was a sign of “solidarity with Ukraine in the face of a brutal Russian invasion and in the face of the massacres and war crimes that are being uncovered these days across the country.”

He added that the field hospital, which until now has helped over 2,000 Ukrainians, represents the “true face” of Israel and its health system.

 

Israel Foreign Minister Yair Lapid also condemned the Russians for committing war crimes 

 

Adding his weight to the charges of crimes against humanity was Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who responded to the horrifying images coming out of the Kiev suburb of Bucha by stating: “Intentionally harming a civilian population is a war crime and I strongly condemn it.”

These statements marked the harshest criticism of Russia by senior Israeli officials since the invasion of Ukraine began.

Russian troops executed Ukrainian civilians in Bucha and dumped their bodies in a mass grave

 

But do they represent the entire government? Does this mean that Israel itself has condemned Russia and accused it of war crimes?

Those question marks remain given that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett still refrains from condemning Russia in continued hope that he can play a mediating role.

Meanwhile, some senior officials like Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman insist on a balanced approach that puts the interests of Israel first.

“Russia is blaming Ukraine and Ukraine is blaming Russia,” he told Army Radio. “We condemn, but really what we need to understand is that there is a bloody war and we must, on the one hand, maintain Israel’s moral position and on the other hand preserve the interests of the State of Israel.”

How the tables have seemingly turned. High-ranking voices in Israel level charges of war crimes against a country that typically sides with those accusing Israel of war crimes. While others urge restraint and “balance” in approaching the matter.

Meanwhile, Western powers demand Israel join them in siding unequivocally against Russia. But these same Western powers themselves preach restraint and balance any time Israel is forced to fight its Arab foes, most notably those entrenched in Gaza.