Smotrich attacks army leadership for ‘withholding vital information’ from Netanyahu and cabinet

Israel’s Finance Minister and the head of the Religious Zionism party, Bezalel Smotrich, has attacked the military leadership, accusing former Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and senior army commanders of keeping “vital information” from the political class during the war against the Palestinians in Gaza.

“The army presented a partial and biased picture of the security situation and was not honest with the cabinet,” claimed Smotrich during his party’s parliamentary bloc meeting on Monday. “This is a repeat of the mistakes that led to 7 October.”

According to the extreme far-right minister a report broadcast by Israeli media suggested “doubts within the cabinet” regarding some of its members. The allegations came from senior military sources who have recently ended their service, he said, in a repeat of the earlier government accusations against the occupation regime’s security agencies about leaking information.

“The cabinet is the body responsible for making the most important security decisions, and there is no doubt about it. The real doubt lies with the senior army officers who concealed information from the political leadership for years and led Israel to 7 October,” he insisted. “What is most serious is the claim that I, as a government minister and a member of the cabinet, had information that was not available to the prime minister. How can this happen in a democratic country? How can a military official withhold vital information and not present it to the political leadership?”

He described this as “disregard for the cabinet” as the place where the most serious security decisions are made based on all of the information available. “Unfortunately, this proves that there are those who have learned nothing from what led to the 7 October disaster,” he noted. “I can testify that in many cases, Chief of Staff Halevi and the senior army commanders did not present us with the whole truth in the cabinet discussions. Dozens of times I had to confront them with information I obtained from the field. This is unacceptable.”

Smotrich claimed that the Israeli army has begun to promote only one opinion and does not allow for alternative ideas or challenging prevailing concepts. “This is how misconceptions arise, causing catastrophic security failures.”

He expressed his hope that there would be changes with the appointment of the new Chief of Staff, General Eyal Zamir, and that there will be a “broader internal dialogue” within the army with “different ideas allowed to be presented and real criticism considered.”

With regard to his visit to Washington, Smotrich said that he met with his American counterpart, Scott Bessent, and that they agreed to enhance economic cooperation between the US and the occupation state. “I received assurances that Israel enjoys full political and military support and has enough weapons and ammunition to open the gates of hell on Hamas.” The 2025 budget, he added, is “imminent… and will provide the military with everything it needs to achieve victory, help support reservists and drive growth.”

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