Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (right) and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy (French)
Authority circles in Israel are witnessing a new internal debate regarding upcoming appointments in the army, as Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy adheres to the step, which is opposed by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Israeli Army Radio had announced that the Chief of Staff would conduct - today, Monday - a campaign of appointments in the army for officers with the rank of colonel, including the appointment of 52 new officers, including two in sensitive positions related to their direct relationship to the war in Gaza and the October 7 failure of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Launched by the Palestinian resistance led by the Al-Qassam Brigades.
Israeli Army Radio said that the two positions are the army's Southern Command intelligence officer, and the head of the Coordination and Liaison Department, who is responsible for bringing aid into Gaza.
Halevy says that stopping appointments will harm his work, but Smotrich, in return, accused the chiefs of staff of the Israeli army of failure and called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to intervene to prevent the upcoming military appointments.
Smotrich said in a letter to Netanyahu that preoccupation with appointments during the war is very dangerous, because it means forming the army according to the vision of the current chiefs of staff who have failed in their mission, adding that the current leadership of the army has only one mandate, which is to win the war, he said.
Ben Gvir and Gallant
In turn, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir entered the line and attacked Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, according to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, which said that he attacked his behavior and considered that he was working independently of the government, reminding Netanyahu that he was Gallant’s boss and that “it is unreasonable for him to let him do this.” Whatever he wants,” the newspaper reported.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu said that he was determined to continue the war on Gaza and expand military operations in Rafah, and said that his government would not submit to international pressure in this regard, because stopping the war would mean defeating Israel, as he put it.
Netanyahu addressed those he described as friends of Israel in the international community, and asked whether they had forgotten the events of October 7, adding that pressure must be exerted on the Hamas movement and its sponsor, Iran, as he put it.
Netanyahu also said that Israel's defeat in the Gaza war would be a loss for the United States as well, indicating during an interview with the American CNN network that Israel would be exposed to what he described as paralysis if elections were held before the end of the war.
On Sunday, Maariv newspaper quoted sources as saying that Finance Minister Smotrich spoke of a high possibility of the fall of Netanyahu’s government due to the conscription law or the inclusion of New Hope party leader Gideon Sa’ar in it.
The newspaper also quoted an Israeli minister as saying that the worsening crisis within the ruling coalition may bring down the right-wing government due to the whims and interests of its members.
Source: Al Jazeera + Israeli press