Israeli Chief of Staff security-checked before entering War Cabinet
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Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi is searched for a recorder before entering a war cabinet meeting, which greatly infuriates him.
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Sharon Halevi, right, touches her husband the then newly appointed Israeli chief of staff Herzi Halevi Monday, January 16, 2023. (AP)
Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi was searched before entering a War Cabinet meeting, Israeli Channel 13 news reported.
As Halevi attempted to enter the hall, a security guard from the Prime Minister's office insisted on inspecting Halevi's belongings to ensure that he did not have any recording devices on his person, the channel's political affairs correspondent reported.
The incident unfolded at "Al-Bir," located in the Security Ministry in "Tel Aviv". Displeased with the situation, Halevi proceeded to enter the meeting hall. Once inside, he addressed those present, expressing his frustration with the security check.
Among the attendees was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's military secretary, who bore witness to Halevi's discontent.
This incident adds a new layer to a saga that has been unfolding for the past month and a half.
Earlier reports detailed how employees in the Prime Minister's office were conducting inspections on officers who had participated in the War Cabinet meetings, requesting confirmation that they were not carrying any recording devices.
'Indecisive Cabinet'
Responding to the unfolding situation, authorities in the Prime Minister's office asserted that the security guard had not received specific instructions and emphasized the necessity of ensuring that anyone entering the War Cabinet hall refrain from carrying electronic devices.
Former Israeli Security Minister Moshe Ya'alon criticized the Israeli government for its stated intention to assert control over the Gaza Strip after the war.
Ya'alon expressed dissatisfaction, describing the government as reliant on figures like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, and he argued that it lacks the capacity to make decisive decisions.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he acknowledged that despite "the positive influence of Israeli figures like Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz and Former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot in bringing some rationality to the cabinet", their presence is not sufficient to lead the Israeli entity out of the current crisis.
It is worth noting that Ya'alon stated in an interview for Israeli Channel 13 on October 25, that he perceived a "vacuum" in the government's actions from the very first day of the war. He added that the Israeli Chief of General Staff and the head of Military Intelligence failed in their roles during the recent events in Gaza.
He also pointed out that Gal Hirsch, the person in charge of the Israeli captives' file in Gaza, lacks the necessary experience to handle this issue.
Ya'alon affirmed that if he were to receive an invitation from the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to take part in the aggression on the Gaza Strip, he would say, "I will come, and you go home."
Disagreements in War Cabinet
Israeli media have revealed disagreements among members of the Israeli occupation's War Cabinet amid the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Resistance's Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
The political affairs correspondent for the Israeli channel Kan, Michael Shemesh, confirmed that former Minister of Security Gadi Eisenkot and incumbent minister Yoav Gallant have very sharp differences in their approaches to the war.
Shemesh pointed out that the disagreement was not limited to the War Cabinet but extended to the broader Cabinet, which includes all Israeli occupation ministers.
The Israeli correspondent reported a debate between Gallant and Eisenkot, in which the former told the latter, "It's good that we did not accept your stance in the War Cabinet when you opposed the army's actions," to which the latter responded, "I did not oppose but supported the position of the security and military establishment."
Shemesh noted that this is just a small part of a broader disagreement on handling security matters between the two officials, who have had an old rivalry dating back years that surfaced during this war.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed disagreements, divisions, and resignations among officials in the Israeli prisoners' affairs body in several cases concerning communication at the political level and negotiations for a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian Resistance.
