Israeli media reports confidence crisis between Netanyahu, army
There is a confidence crisis between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leadership of his army while his relation with Defense Minister Yoav Galant is tense, which is hindering cooperation between them, an Israeli media report said.
Moreover, at least three ministers in the Israeli emergency government are considering resigning to force Netanyahu to bear responsibility for the security failure, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahraonot said Monday.
The report also stated that 75% of Israelis hold Netanyahu responsible for the security failure to protect the towns surrounding the Gaza Strip that were attacked by Hamas during the Oct.7 Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Likewise, over 70% saw Defense Minister Gallant as responsible. Among respondents, 66% felt that Netanyahu should resign when the conflict is over. Even in Netanyahu’s own Likud party, over half believe he should go, the report said.
A recent survey by Nimrod Nir, a political psychologist at the Hebrew University who sampled the opinions of 1,443 Jewish Israelis over several days since the war broke out, showed that only 20.5% of Jewish Israelis have trust in the Israeli government, the lowest number recorded in 20 years.
The newspaper also said that there are disagreements between Netanyahu and senior army officials regarding assessments, plans and decisions.
The Yedioth Ahronoth report attributed to Israeli political and military sources saying that Netanyahu is angry with senior officials in the army, that he is dealing with little patience with the opinions and assessments expressed by military leaders and that he is slow in adopting their plans.
The newspaper also noted that an Israeli army spokesman had publicly announced Saturday that the Israeli army was waiting for the political leadership’s approval for a ground operation.
“This is the way for senior Israeli army officers to throw the ball in the government’s court, especially the prime minister,” Yedioth Ahraonot said, adding that the confidence crisis is not limited to Netanyahu and the army but is also present within the government’s ministers.
On Sunday, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Netanyahu is setting up the military to take the fall for the failure to foresee Hamas’ attack two weeks ago. It quoted one source as saying they'd heard he was defaming officers.
Defense sources told the daily, that Netanyahu is taking steps such as appointing a new spokesman in his office to liaise with military correspondents just four days into the war.
Several sources reportedly described the appointment as unusual, especially during wartime when the defense minister and chief of staff typically maintain continuous communication with military correspondents.
Haaretz quoted an unidentified military official who said "Netanyahu is orchestrating a campaign, collecting evidence against the army, and privately explaining why he should not be held responsible. He keeps reiterating that he did not receive the intelligence information."
On Monday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir demanded that Netanyahu add a minister to the three-person war cabinet, accusing those already on the panel overseeing the war against Hamas of having harbored misconceptions that enabled the group to carry out its devastating attack on October 7, Times of Israel said.
Source: Naharnet
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