The head of the Israel Defense Forces has chastised cabinet ministers for failing to clearly condemn the actions of rioters who broke into military bases last week, Hebrew media outlets reported Friday, further underlining growing strains between the military and political leadership.
“I expect ministers to speak out against base break-ins,” Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said during a Thursday meeting at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, according to reports by Ynet, Channel 12 and other outlets. He was referring to what ensued last week after Military Police raided the Sde Teiman detention facility in the Negev to arrest soldiers accused of abusing a terror suspect detainee.
Far-right lawmakers, including Otzma Yehudit’s Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu and Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot, mobilized their supporters, calling on them to show up outside Sde Teiman to protest the soldiers’ detention. Sukkot, Eliyahu and Likud MK Nissim Vaturi were among those filmed infiltrating the IDF facility amid the riot.
“When we receive information about inappropriate [conduct] in the IDF, what do you expect us to do?” Halevi asked the ministers.
Ministers reportedly took issue with how the arrests were handled, asking Halevi among other things why the officers who arrested the suspects at Sde Teiman wore masks during the raid.
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While not saying outright that the arrests to probe suspicions of wrongdoing should not have happened, some right-wing ministers have complained that the manner in which these were carried out — with masked officers entering Sde Teiman and carting the suspects away — was insensitive, creating the impression of a counter-terror raid, with the suspects highly dangerous criminals.
Halevi responded that investigators in the unit wore masks because they have had death threats made against them. He noted that no force was used and the suspects were not handcuffed.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin was said to take issue with the mask explanation, responding: “Threats on my life, and that of the prime minister, have been made [regularly] for more than a year, and we’re not walking around with masks.”
Levin and Netanyahu as members of the cabinet have bodyguards and threats against them are closely monitored.
MK Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionism) pictured after breaking into the IDF’s Sde Teiman detention center, July 29, 2024. (X screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)
Halevi responded that “this is the way to protect IDF soldiers,” adding, “the best possible way to do that would be for the IDF not to manage the prisons, and for those who should [manage them] to do so” — a thinly veiled barb at National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the Israel Prison Service.
The IDF has been responsible for the detention of most Palestinian suspects since October 7 due to insufficient space in Israeli prisons.
When Ben Gvir tried to interrupt Halevi, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly cut him off, telling him: “Don’t talk now. This is not your time to talk. You’ll speak when it’s your turn.”
Ben Gvir responded: “You’re shutting me up. We all know you launched an investigation to suck up to The Hague You won’t shut me up.”
He was referring to the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, where there are proceedings against Israel in general, and Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant specifically.
Science Minister Gila Gamliel, who sits at cabinet meetings as an observer, told Ben Gvir to “be quiet already,” to which the latter responded, “You’re just an observer.”
Halevi, ignoring the arguments, listed instances of online incitement against Military Police officers after the Sde Teiman arrests. “I’m speaking of this here because a few days ago it was posted online that a gun should be put to the head of the Military Police investigator, and photographs of female officers in the military prosecution were posted.”
Ministers reportedly dismissed the posts, comparing them to incitement against Netanyahu. “The prime minister gets this every day,” Transportation Minister Miri Regev said, once again failing to note the premier’s top-tier protection, which soldiers do not of course enjoy.
“I can’t believe what I’m hearing,” Gallant responded. “Nineteen-year-old soldiers are being turned into the enemy. Where are we living?”
Halevi continued, “Besides statements by us, the commanders, there need to be statements from the [political] leadership.”
Netanyahu was reported to criticize Halevi’s remark, saying he should not tell ministers how to act. “Just like you don’t want such treatment for the IDF, it isn’t your job to tell ministers what to do,” he said.
“I’m not telling them what to do,” Halevi said. “I expect you to push us to address grave incidents, and not the opposite.”
“We are a country of laws and if someone breaks the law, they need to be investigated,” Netanyahu said at the end of the meeting. “The issue is with how it’s done because we aren’t working under normal circumstances. A little more understanding is needed.
“There is no place for breaking into bases, into courts. The army needs to operate according to the law,” the prime minister said, but added that the military could have acted more sensitively while conducting the arrests.
One of the dozens of protesters who disrupted a hearing of the High Court of Justice over a petition against the conditions of Hamas terrorists and suspects in the Sde Teiman detention facility, where severe allegations of abuses and torture have been made, is removed from the courtroom, August 7, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.
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