Far-right Israeli ministers clash with army chief over Hamas blitz probe

Protesters hold a banner depicting Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Knesset member Simcha Rothman during a protest in Tel Aviv on August 12, 2023. (Photo/Reuters)

A plan by Israel's military to mount an internal investigation into the October 7 Hamas blitz that caught Israel off guard has drawing strong criticism from some of the hardline and extremist ministers in PM Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government.

Israeli armed forces chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, informed the security cabinet of the planned inquiry during a briefing late on Thursday evening. The briefing was meant to be closed but some of it was aired by Israeli media, including criticism by several ministers who were present.

The army's chief spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said on Friday that the military is still planning the investigation. But he said it would include a look at the chain of command, decision making and former officials.

He said the investigation aims "to improve the army" and is not meant to replace any future external investigations.

The October 7 blitz by Hamas fighters, in which Israel said some 1100 people were killed and about 240 taken captives, blindsided the country's advanced security apparatus and exposed Netanyahu to massive criticism.

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas says its raid on Israel that surprised its arch-enemy was orchestrated in response to regular Israeli attacks on Al Aqsa Mosque, illegal settler violence in occupied West Bank and to put Palestine question "back on the table."

In an assault of startling breadth, Hamas gunmen rolled into as many as 22 locations outside Gaza, including towns and other communities as far as 24 kilometres from the Gaza fence.

In some places they are said to have gunned down many soldiers as Israel's military scrambled to muster a response. And upon return to Gaza, they also took scores of captives, including Israeli military personnel and civilians.

Dozens of the captives were later exchanged for Palestinians incarcerating in Israeli dungeons.

Since then, Israel has heavily bombarded Gaza from air, land and sea, killing nearly 23,000 Palestinians, mostly children and women, wounding around 58,000 and uprooting nearly two million people in the tiny coastal enclave.

Ben-Gvir wants army investigated

PM Netanyahu has so far rejected calls for an investigation, saying the government must focus on the war in Gaza and answer questions later.

The public broadcaster Kan reported that a Security Cabinet meeting late on Thursday broke up after four hardline Cabinet ministers shouted at the army's commander in chief because they opposed his plans for the investigation.

During the meeting, two extremist ministers said they were upset at the inclusion in the military's inquiry of Shaul Mofaz, a retired general who was defence minister when Israel unilaterally quit Gaza in 2005 and razed illegal Jewish settlements there.

The two ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accused another ex-general helping with the probe of having weakened the military by supporting reservists who protested against a campaign for a judicial overhaul by Netanyahu last year.

"These are people whose own actions should be under investigation — and who should not be the ones doing the investigating," Ben-Gvir said in a social media post.

In his own online post, Smotrich said he was not in principle opposed to a military review intended to improve war performance. But any investigation of what led to the events on October 7, and of wider security doctrines, demanded cabinet input, he said.

The office of an Israeli military spokesperson said the inquiry had not yet begun, adding: "The general staff are planning the process of the investigation and the appointment of the heads of the investigation teams."

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Source: TRT