US political theorist Michael Walzer calls Israel war on Gaza a ‘criminal effort’

US renowned political theorist Michael Walzer has criticised Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, calling it a "criminal effort" that aimed to conquer the enclave and expel Palestinians. 

In an interview with Haaretz, Walzer said the Israeli response to the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 was a "joint production" and that Israeli society had to take responsibility for the destruction and the killings in Gaza.

"The trauma of October 7 created a crazed rhetorical response, calling for revenge and indiscriminate killing. Leading Israeli politicians spoke about how there are no innocent civilians, about how everyone should be killed," he said.

"The effort to win when there was no way to win without destroying Gaza was a criminal effort", he told the Israeli outlet, which described the war ethics specialist as "a Zionist to his core".

"Wars are sometimes necessary, but they must have an end and a goal. Your government refused to commit to any end or goal, except for conquering the Strip and expelling all or most of its residents, but a better end was possible," Walzer said. 

More than 71,271 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army in Gaza in the past two years, and at least 171,233 others have been wounded. Israel has violated the ceasefire nearly 1,000 times since it came into force in early October. 

"Whoever causes destruction must care for the helpless and innocent victims on the other side. And Israel did not do that. Israel intended that there would be no easing of suffering until there was a 'total victory' - a victory that was not possible and that no one, including the [Israeli army], truly believed in," Walzer said.

'Pogroms'

Born in New York in 1935, Walzer wrote Just and Unjust Wars, a book that was added to the required reading list at the US Military Academy at West Point weeks after its publication in 1977. 

In the interview with Haaretz, he mentioned a host of "moral problems that should have been addressed and were not" in Israel's conduct of the war, including "horrific videos of soldiers boasting about the war crimes they committed" on social media.

The most serious ethical issue, however, was the siege imposed on Gaza, he said. 

"It was a partial siege, with pauses, but it was still a significant part of Israel's military effort, and it may be the most critical aspect in the debate over the justification of the war - what responsibility Israel had for the medical and nutritional situation of Gaza's residents."

Former Israeli prime minister accuses government of backing 'murderous' settler violence

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Last week, a group of aid organisations working in Gaza warned of "devastating" consequences after Israel announced it would ban them from operating.

Doctors Without Borders, one of 37 organisations affected by the new restriction, said in a post on X that if aid groups lose access to operate in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, "hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would be cut off from essential care".

Walzer also cited the treatment of Palestinian detainees, saying there were "credible reports of abuse" against them, as well as Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, which he said has "increased to the point of pogroms, with the police and army watching from the sidelines".

Settler attacks have risen sharply since Israel launched its war on Gaza, with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recording more than 260 settler attacks in October - the highest monthly total since monitoring began in 2006.

UN figures also indicate that more than 3,200 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced as a result of settler violence since then. 

Israel's former prime minister on Friday accused the Israeli government of actively enabling "murderous" settler violence in the West Bank, days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to downplay the surge in attacks amid growing US scrutiny.

Meanwhile, in just over two years, Israeli forces have arrested more than 21,000 Palestinians from the West Bank, with around 9,250 still in detention. Numerous reports have documented acts of torture and ill-treatment against Palestinian detainees, including rape.

A total of 32 detainees, including a child, died in Israeli custody in 2025, bringing the number of prisoners' deaths since October 2023 to more than 100, according to rights groups.