On a tactical level, Israel’s circle of enemies doesn’t have much to smile about. Hamas has been devastated, Hezbollah decimated, and Iran’s air defenses have been largely neutralized. On the battlefield, Israel has overpowered them.
These days, any semblance of a smile on their faces has little to do with their own actions against Israel and more to do with what Israel is doing to itself.
As if the demonstrations weren’t enough, as if the clashes between police and protesters on the streets weren’t enough, as if the talk of civil war, a brewing constitutional crisis, the firing of the head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the attorney-general weren’t enough – on Monday, another crack emerged, this time between Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, newly appointed by Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Oy, just what we need right now,” many Israelis probably thought as they tried to wrap their heads around the latest brouhaha.
"Great," the country's enemies had to be thinking.
Country is still at war
With all the background noise – the clashes between the government and the judiciary, the government and the Shin Bet, Qatargate, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir vs Ronen Bar, Justice Minister Yariv Levin vs Gali Baharav-Miara, the protests – it is easy to forget that the country is still at war.
A reminder: More and more troops are entering Gaza, where the IDF is stepping up its activity. The IAF attacked sites near Damascus on Tuesday and deep inside Lebanon on Saturday. The Houthis have restarted firing ballistic missiles, and terrorism is on an uptick inside the country. And that’s just the immediate threats, to say nothing about Iran.
With all this on the nation’s plate, it needs a political, defense, and security echelon that works together seamlessly. It is evident that no such harmony exists between the government and the Shin Bet. Still, there was at least hope – after Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi stepped down as chief of staff earlier this month – that the friction between the political leadership and IDF top brass had eased.
Monday proved otherwise, with the latest dispute centering on a reserve officer named Brig.-Gen. Oren Solomon.
Solomon, a veteran of numerous senior command positions in the IDF and currently affiliated with the hawkish Israel Defense and Security Forum (Habithonistim), was tasked – as part of the IDF’s investigation into the failures of October 7 – with reviewing the performance of the Gaza Division, responsible for securing Israel’s border with Gaza.
Under investigation
Last week, Channel 12 reported that Solomon had been removed from reserve duty and was under investigation.
In a letter to Netanyahu and Katz, Solomon charged that he was removed because his findings – which have not been made public – exposed embarrassing flaws and were very critical of the IDF top command, including Halevi, and that the IDF was trying to cover up the report.
The IDF, for its part, stated that Solomon was being investigated for “severe operational security violations.”When Katz heard that the military was questioning Solomon, he issued a statement saying he summoned Solomon “as soon as possible” to present him with the findings, which Katz had not yet seen.
“The fact that Brig.-Gen. Solomon, who conducted an authorized investigation into the Southern Command’s events on October 7, criticizing the senior ranks of the IDF, is being summoned for questioning raises concerns,” Katz said. “I intend to demand that the chief of staff examine the conduct of the military advocate-general on this matter.”
In other words, Katz ordered Zamir to investigate why the military advocate-general was investigating Solomon.Zamir, only in his job for three weeks, was not pleased with either the order or the way it was delivered and had a statement put out in his name:
“The chief of staff does not take directives through media statements,” it read. “The claim that the officer is being investigated due to his involvement in the October 7 investigations is false and baseless. The officer was summoned for questioning over serious suspicions of security information violations. The investigation will continue professionally and impartially.”
Zamir said he fully supports the IDF’s law enforcement bodies. The new chief of staff, instead of being able to focus on the not-insignificant challenges of the day, was now engaged in a public battle with Katz.
Katz did not back down. First thing in the morning, he issued a sharp “I’m the boss” rebuttal: “The defense minister issues directives to the chief of staff – subordinate to the political echelon – in any manner he deems appropriate.”
Furthermore, he wrote that Zamir’s “response on this matter was unnecessary and inappropriate” and called for an end to the “media discourse surrounding the issue.” Perhaps he should have considered that before issuing his initial statement, which he justified as necessary “due to its public significance.”
With the country on the cusp of sending troops and reservists back into full battle, Israel’s leadership must get its act together. The government vs the Shin Bet, the government vs the attorney-general, the government vs the chief of staff – this is an alarmingly unstable position for Israel to be in right now.
A common thread in both the government’s dispute with Shin Bet head Bar and now with Zamir is the investigations into October 7.
Netanyahu and the government were angered that the Shin Bet inquiry pointed an accusatory finger at them. Likewise, the uproar over Solomon stems from a government perception that his findings – potentially shifting blame toward the IDF’s top brass and away from the political echelon – are being silenced.
At the heart of all this turmoil are fundamental questions: How did Israel fail so miserably on October 7, and what needs to be done to ensure it is prevented in the future? The Shin Bet, IDF, and government are all trying to shift the blame onto each other.
This is precisely why an independent inquiry – a State Commission of Inquiry – is so critically needed.
All these destructive squabbles underscore the necessity of an independent investigation. In the absence of one, without an authoritative body that can objectively assess the facts and draw credible conclusions, everyone will continue pointing fingers at everyone else – something that will only bring satisfaction to one group: Israel’s enemies.