T. Belman. Why is the Army investigating the Army. Half the people on the committee should be right wing civilians. There is no urgency for doing it now while the fighting is ongoing. There is absolutely no need to discuss the day after while the fighting is ongoing.
Meeting of Political-Security Cabinet ends abruptly after ministers blast Chief of Staff over appointment of a team to investigate the events of October 7.
Israel National News Jan 5, 2024, 2:10 AM
A meeting of the Political-Security Cabinet ended abruptly on Thursday night, after a confrontation erupted between several ministers and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, against the background of the appointment of a team that will investigate the events of October 7.
Kan 11 News reported that Ministers Miri Regev, Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben Gvir and David Amsalem claimed that the members of the investigating team supported the Disengagement from Gaza. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tried to silence the ministers who attacked the Chief of Staff and said that he supports Halevi, before senior officials in the defense establishment walked out of the meeting.
According to the report, Minister Regev said to the Chief of Staff: “Tell me what is this? You published a report that you have established an investigation team? You named Mofaz? Are you out of your mind?”
The Chief of Staff replied to Regev: “We have not started any investigations”.
Minister Gallant turned to Regev directly and told her: “Miri, I don’t owe you anything. I give my full support to the Chief of Staff”.
Minister Smotrich said, “I have a lot to say about the army”, while Minister Ben Gvir said to the Chief of Staff: “Are you appointing Mofaz? The father of the Disengagement?”
Minister Benny Gantz told the ministers: “Stop attacking the Chief of Staff. You’ve gone completely crazy.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu eventually dispersed the discussion and told the Chief of Staff: “Sometimes you have to listen to the ministers. The meeting is over.”
The meeting concluded without any decisions being made on the issue of the day after the war.
According to the report, the inquiry commission will consist of former IDF Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz, former IDF Intelligence Directorate Head Aharon Ze’evi-Farkash, and former Commanding Officer of the IDF Southern Command Sami Turgeman.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said, “The IDF has not yet started the investigation process. The General Staff is formulating the planning of the investigation process, including the selection of the heads of the investigation teams. When things are finalized, they will be announced to the public.”
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Defense Yoav Galant, and Minister Benny Gantz attend a press conference at the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, December 16, 2023. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)
A meeting of top ministers intended to discuss planning for the administration of Gaza following Israel’s war against Hamas ended in a loud and angry dustup between ministers and military brass according to reports early Friday, as right-wing lawmakers cried foul over plans for the army to probe its own mistakes.
The brawl saw right-wing politicians, including some from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, take aim at Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi over both the timing of the inquest and the inclusion of an ex-defense minister.
The feud brought to the surface long-simmering tensions between the military and some in the hard-right coalition over Israeli policies vis à vis the Palestinians, exposing cracks in the largely unified front presented by the cabinet since war broke out three months ago. It came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to the region for highly anticipated talks on plans to wind down fighting and hand over civil control of Gaza.
As the late-night meeting got underway, reports emerged that Halevi was forming a committee of ex-defense officials to probe the army’s failures in the lead-up to Hamas’s October 7 attacks on southern Israel, which caught the military largely unprepared and unable to respond effectively for hours.
According to the reports, Transportation Minister Miri Regev confronted Halevi during the meeting about the probe, with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Regional Cooperation Minister David Amsalem joining in as they demanded to know why the army had decided to launch the probe with fighting ongoing in Gaza.
According to the reports, Ben Gvir and Smotrich accused Halevi of sticking to a failed conception regarding Israel’s dealings with the Palestinians exposed by the attacks. The criticism echoed swipes from the revanchist right against “day-after” plans in Gaza that give the Palestinians partial control of affairs in the Strip.
The claim prompted war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, a former chief of staff and defense minister, to explode, stating, “This is a professional investigation, what does it have to do with the disengagement and conceptions? The chief of staff is fucking probing what happened to serve our battle aims and our ability to plan for a confrontation in the north,” Walla reported.
Halevi shot back at the ministers that the inquest was operational, not about policy.
Gallant backed up Halevi, telling his colleagues it is “none of your business” if the IDF chief orders a probe. As things grew heated and shouting began, he told Regev, “Miri, I don’t work for you. Let me speak. The chief of staff can do what he wants.”
Israel’s political leaders have pointedly refused to look into mistakes that allowed the October 7 assault to occur, promising that they will do so after the war, which was launched with the twin goals of eliminating Hamas and returning the hostages, with some predicting it could take a year or longer of fighting.
During the tussle, ministers aligned against Halevi noted that they had lots of criticism for the army, but had held off on publicly criticizing the military due to the ongoing war. Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, from the National Unity party which joined the coalition as an emergency measure to have a say in the running of the war, asked in retort why there was no criticism for the political leadership as well.
As the bickering continued, Netanyahu declared the meeting over, saying it would be continued another time. There was no government statement on the summit.
According to the Kan public broadcaster, as he closed the meeting Netanyahu told Halevi: “Sometimes, you need to listen to the ministers.”
The meeting came days before Blinken is set to visit Israel to discuss “transitioning to the next phase” of the war, according to the State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, who noted that the talks would likely touch on areas of disagreement.
“We don’t expect every conversation on this trip to be easy. There are obviously tough issues facing the region and difficult choices ahead, but the secretary believes it is the responsibility of the United States of America to lead diplomatic efforts to tackle those challenges head-on, and he’s prepared to do that in the days to come,” the State Department spokesman said.
The meeting had initially been scheduled for Tuesday but was delayed after the assassination of Hamas terror chief Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, which has been widely attributed to Israel.
The premier had reportedly tried to avoid any such discussion because it would reveal the expected role that Palestinian Authority officials will have in managing Gaza’s civil affairs after Hamas is defeated.
The delay has frustrated the Biden administration, which argues that failure to plan for who will govern Gaza after the war could lead to the Israel Defense Forces being bogged down in the enclave indefinitely.
@Ketzel2,
Yes, investigation must be now, during the war. The same people who destroyed the army now are at the top, again. With them there will be no victory. It is them, who brought Oct.7. There must be new people to lead the country, like Moshe Feiglin.
@ketzel2 😀 good one.
Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here. This is the War Room! (Dr. Strangelove)
What’s up with that? This kind of acrimony should not be going on during a war.
Regev was the IDF spokesperson during the Disengagement, so she really shouldn’t be talking.
It makes no sense to include citizens into the inquiry because it is a military matter.
Putting the same foolish leftists in power that has brought the country to catastrophe now. That’s what you can expect from the Likud.
Anyway, investigative committees are only made to whitewash the guys at the top. What Israel needs is an investigative committee founded by qualified citizens who are not part of the government who won’t hesitate to attribute blame to those who are guilty.
Sick ?