Occupied Jerusalem- The opposition expressed by broad circles in the Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu to Shaul Mofaz, Minister of Security and former Chief of Staff of the Army, heading a committee to investigate the failure to repel the sudden attack by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), reflected the concerns of the political level about the consequences of the recommendations leading to the dismantling of the government even during the war on Gaza. .
These opposition voices carried within them many messages, including accusing Mofaz of evacuating settlements from the Gaza Strip, and that he was a partner in formulating the security perception towards Hamas, criticizing him for his positions questioning the feasibility and effectiveness of the war on Gaza and the ground incursion, and calling for the conclusion of a comprehensive exchange deal.
Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy decided to begin the process of investigating the war on Gaza, including the conduct of military operations, the ground incursion into the besieged Strip, and the failure to prevent the events of October 7, 2023.
The investigation team includes Shaul Mofaz – who supervised the plan to disengage from Gaza in 2005 – the former head of the Military Intelligence Division, Major General in the Reserve Aharon Zeevi, and the former commander of the Southern Command of the Israeli army, Major General in the Reserve Sami Turgeman.
Disengage
Mofaz – who served as Minister of Security during the disengagement plan – told Israeli Channel 12 following Hamas’ surprise attack on the “Gaza Envelope” settlements and the western Negev that he “bears responsibility for the disengagement.”
He pointed out that he was proud of this step, saying, “If the settlers had continued to remain in the Gaza Strip near the claws of these predatory animals, there would have been armed operations against Hamas,” as he put it.
An investigation committee headed by Mofaz will be launched in conjunction with the current examination mechanism of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, led by Major General Moti Baruch, to investigate the events of military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army says that there is no connection between the procedures that will be launched in The Hague and the external investigation team, according to what was reported by the website of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
The investigation team headed by Mofaz is supposed to submit an interim report in the coming months, and the start of the investigation, according to Yoav Zeitoun, the military correspondent for the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, may lead to “demanding some ministers to also initiate the establishment of an official investigation committee, which will shorten the path to accountability or resignation among senior officials.” Government officials.”
Zaitoun said that the reasons for opposing the appointment of an investigation committee headed by Mofaz are political among the government coalition parties, which fear that this will pave the way for the rapid establishment of an official investigation committee and hold its leaders and the government responsible for failing to prevent the attack and not listening to the assessments of the military level, which warned of a scenario of a surprise attack planned by Hamas. .
In an indication that reflects the opposition expressed by ministers from the far-right camp to this committee, the military correspondent indicated that Halevy made it clear in conversations with security officials that he intends to conduct a professional investigation to examine the army’s behavior in the war to improve its performance, and that the examination will include the extent of the army’s and military leadership’s readiness, and will not include The political and governmental levels.
A slap and a threat
Regarding the government, political analyst Akiva Eldar believes that the attack on the Chief of Staff during the cabinet session by right-wing and Likud ministers against the backdrop of the formation of an investigation committee in the army to examine the failure, failure, and conduct of the war would not have been carried out without a green light from Netanyahu.
In his speech to Tel Aviv Tribune Net, Eldar reviewed the reasons for opposition among broad circles in the Israeli government to establishing an investigation committee within the army, saying that this serves as a prelude that paves the way for accelerating procedures to establish an official investigation committee even before the end of the war, and it is the committee that poses a threat to the far-right government coalition.
As for the opposition of ministers on the extreme right to appointing Mofaz as head of the investigation team, it is due to political reasons, as his return to the Israeli political scene is considered a slap to the Netanyahu government, which sees Mofaz and the traditional right as a political threat, Eldar adds.
The political analyst pointed out that Mofaz is still convinced that what the government did at the time was correct, and that he strongly opposed the Netanyahu government’s decision to cancel the disengagement in the northern West Bank, in addition to that he and the movement he represents in the right-wing camp support moving towards a political process with The Palestinians the next day after the war.
Sin and atonement
In turn, Israeli Channel 14 criticized the appointment of Mofaz as an investigator into the failure of last October 7.
The channel – affiliated with the extreme right and settler camp – reviewed the reasons for its rejection, saying that it was an opponent of the Netanyahu government launching the war on Gaza.
She added that Mofaz expressed his reservations about the ground incursion and doubted the possibility of the war achieving its declared goals, as he called for a comprehensive exchange deal and the emptying of Palestinian prisoners from prisons in exchange for the liberation of all Israeli detainees, including military personnel.
According to the channel’s political affairs department, Mofaz is considered the godfather of the disengagement plan and unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, where he was Minister of Security, and it was claimed that he bears responsibility for what Israel reached with the Gaza Strip with the sudden attack, and therefore he cannot be objective in the recommendations that the investigation committee headed by him will reach. .
In turn, Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir responded to the appointment of Mofaz with a tweet on the “X” platform in which he said, “The appointment of Mofaz is one of the central figures – who prepared the disengagement plan – and a political figure, and an essential partner in the security perception that brought us to this point in the investigation team.” The events of October 7 are a sin and atonement for the crime.”
He added, “The investigation must also include the issue of the historical bloodshed to evacuate settlers from the Gaza Strip, and certainly the failure to appoint its engineers to examine the failure that resulted from their actions. The same applies to Aharon Zeevi, who supported the disengagement that was the catalyst for the events of October 7,” he added. His claim.