The Israeli Knesset’s Foreign Affairs Committee called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet with it as soon as possible to discuss the war on the Gaza Strip, as the committee considered that it “failed to achieve the declared goals of the war, in addition to taking a series of decisions that endanger Israel’s strategic position.”
This came in a letter addressed by the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, MK Yuli Yoel Edelstein, which began with the following statement: “Eleven months have passed since the great failure in Israel’s history and the outbreak of war on October 7, during which major changes have occurred on the battlefield.”
She added, “For many months, the Prime Minister has refused to update the war objectives in the manner required and appropriate to achieve them and strive to achieve victory in the war, and he avoids making the decisive decisions required to strengthen the national security of the State of Israel.”
“Moreover, in recent days a series of decisions have been made that are disconnected from any strategic context and in the absence of responsible and in-depth dialogue as is required, in a way that could further aggravate Israel’s situation at this time and cause deep and long-term damage to national security, the sense of security and the national resilience of its citizens,” she continued.
The letter referred to “the failure to fulfill the supreme moral duty of returning 107 of the kidnapped, living and dead prisoners held by Hamas, which contradicts the goals of the war and the Israeli interest.”
She considered that this failure to return these people “has left hundreds of thousands of citizens living in a state of uncertainty and insecurity, while the inhabitants of entire areas of the country are being expelled from their homes and displaced from their settlements, some of which have become destroyed villages. This is another serious violation of the basic contract between the state and its citizens and leads to real damage to the ability to win the war.”
She also referred to “the decision taken in the middle of the night by the Political-Security Cabinet, in the absence of in-depth discussion as required, and contrary to the positions of the security establishment and some of the ministers themselves regarding the consequences of a permanent presence in the Gaza Strip.”
The letter stated that “giving up the lives of Israelis and Israelis held by Hamas in Gaza has enormous implications for Israel’s national security, Israel’s regional position and its relations.”
In addition to Edelstein, the letter was signed by committee members: MK Gadi Eisenkot, MK Merav Michaeli, MK Elazar Stern, MK Sharon Nir, and MK Ram Ben-Barak.