The Israeli Channel 13 revealed a letter sent by 169 former military commanders to the Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevy, in which they expressed their support for him after some ministers of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government attacked him a few days ago in a cabinet meeting, amid the worsening dispute between the Israeli army and the government. Because of the investigation committee that Halevy ordered to be formed to investigate the causes of the events of last October 7, in reference to the Al-Aqsa flood battle.
The signatories of the letter stated that they watched “with sadness the front opened by the ministers to defeat the army and its chief of staff.”
The mini-ministerial council meeting ended last Friday night following sharp disagreements between Halevy and a number of ministers. Due to the formation of a team to investigate the events of last October 7, which prompted Netanyahu to cancel the meeting that was scheduled to discuss the post-war phase in Gaza.
According to the Israeli Walla website, the session witnessed sharp arguments and shouting, which prompted Netanyahu to stop it, noting that ministers in the mini-council attacked Chief of Staff Halevy because of the appointment of Shaul Mofaz – who supervised the implementation of the unilateral withdrawal plan from Gaza in 2005 – as head. Investigation team.
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority quoted senior ministers as saying that the planning for the attack on Halevy was in coordination with Netanyahu.
Discomfort in the army
In a related context, Israeli Channel 12 reported that there is resentment among army officials because of what Halevy was subjected to in the government meeting, and these officials indicated that they are fighting in Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank, at a time when the Council of Ministers is fighting them at home.
The channel added, citing sources in the Israeli army, that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant believes that Halevy made a mistake when he formed the investigation team before consulting him, especially since the Defense Minister heard about the decision to form the investigation committee minutes before the cabinet session.
Part of this dispute was linked to Halevy’s decision to form a security team to begin an investigation into the failures of the events of last October 7, with their security, military and intelligence aspects.
The investigation team includes a number of former security officials; Among them are: Minister of Defense and former Chief of Staff of the Army, Shaul Mofaz, who will head the team, in addition to the former head of the Military Intelligence Division, Ze’evi Farkash, and the former commander of the Army’s Southern Command, Sami Turgeman, and each of the three will handle investigations in his field.
Israeli media said that the investigations will also include the conduct of military operations during the war on Gaza.
Criticism of Netanyahu
In light of these differences, Defense Minister Gallant called on everyone to stop what he said was the irresponsible exploitation of the army and its leaders for political gains.
For his part, Benny Gantz, Minister in the War Council, asked Netanyahu to choose between unity and security or politics.
In the midst of the attack on the army and the Chief of Staff, members of the Mini-Ministerial Council for Security and Military Affairs in Israel said that the army has not yet achieved any of the goals of the war in the Gaza Strip.
The officials added in statements reported by Haaretz newspaper that Hamas’s military and civilian capabilities are still in place and performing their functions, and that its military leaders are alive, and that the majority of the tunnels have not yet been demolished.
The members said that after 3 months of war, Hamas is still in control of the Gaza Strip, and that it will take several months to disarm it.
Regarding the Israeli prisoners who were detained in the Gaza Strip, Israeli officials said that half of them are still in the hands of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).