Alwaght- While the Israeli regime needs internal unity and convergence as over the past two years it has seen multiple fronts opened against it, the course of developments is going against this necessity, with rifts among prominent figures growing deeper day by day and reaching alarming levels.
In the latest development, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz and army chief Eyal Zamir have clashed over some issues inside the military. A look at the analyses and media reports reveals that the main agitator of this rift is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is trying to capitalize on the chasms between the military officials in his favor.
Despite Netanyahu holding a separate session to de-escalate the tensions, it seems that the tensions have not winded down. The fashion of Netanyahu’s intervention and the dispute between the two officials is developing in a way that some political observers say that Netanyahu’s cabinet is like a kindergarten where the teacher enjoys fighting of the kids.
Rifts erupt as new figures appointed in the army
The disputes intensified when Zamir decided to punish the generals and officers who had commanded the army in the southern areas during the Hamas attack, and simultaneously proceeded with a new list of military appointments without coordinating with Katz.
In response, Katz halted the appointments and formed a new investigative committee to determine whether these actions were professional or not. Zamir believes that appointments and dismissals are purely professional military matters, while Katz sees them as a form of insurrection. In this vein, Katz decided to freeze appointments to senior military positions for 30 days, which Zamir described as political interference that damages the army’s readiness.
A few days ago, Netanyahu summoned both to his office to broker a peace, but Katz did not show up to the meeting. He requested a separate meeting instead, which Netanyahu agreed to, not to avoid tension, but to fully exploit the disagreement. Following this, Israeli media announced that Netanyahu is considering dismissing Katz from his post and appointing Gideon Sa’ar, who is currently foreign minister.
Zamir has also voiced severe criticism against the politicians in Tel Aviv, stating that unlike the army, which has conducted its own investigations into the failure of October 7, they have taken no action in this regard.
It seems these positions taken by the army commander have not sat well with Netanyahu, who is secretly seeking to . In this context, Haaretz reported that Netanyahu’s government is inclined to pin the blame solely on the army in this affair, describing it as part of a broader process to politically control the security apparatus, to the point where Katz is acting more as Netanyahu’s proxy, who should be the main decision-maker in military affairs.
Consequently, some Israeli analysts in recent days have directed their sharp criticism of the emerging disputes squarely at Netanyahu himself and his management style. For example, Efraim Inbar, an Israeli strategic affairs expert, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, described this dispute as a scandal affecting the security of the regime. He described it as a result of the impulsive behavior of the defense minister who “gives orders, speaks, directs, and threatens.” According to him, if the PM were focused on the affairs of Israel, its security, and its future, such an inappropriate situation would not have arisen.
Netanyahu trying to show a strong image of himself
As this tension unfolded among senior military decision-makers, the Netanyahu’s way of managing the situation has called attention. The leaked reports of his handling of the situation has pushed the analysts to the argument that the PM is not only not dissatisfied with the tensions, but also is even seeking to fish in the troubled waters and so he was involved in the development of this crisis.
He lashed out at Zamir for ignoring Katz and criticized the latter for excessively attacking the army and its chief. With this stance, Netanyahu appears to be leveraging the rift between security officials to weaken Katz’s position within the Likud party and Zamir’s standing in the military. The objective is to position himself as the sole power broker who can guarantee stability within the cabinet and among the political and security establishment.
He aims to send a clear message to Israeli society that without him at the helm, not only governmental cohesion but also security and stability in the occupied territories would be at risk.
In reality, this move is part of Netanyahu’s broader political playbook ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections. By managing, and arguably perpetuating, internal crises, he seeks to consolidate his political dominance.
Simultaneously, Netanyahu is using these maneuvers to evade responsibility for the October 7 failures. He is attempting to shift the entire blame onto the army, intelligence agencies, and the defense ministry. Over the past two years, he has removed several senior security officials in an effort to stifle investigations into the incident. Now, with Katz and Zamir facing potential dismissal, he is moving to secure his absolute control over both security and political affairs.
Everything is related to defeat in Gaza war
While the recent political clash within the war cabinet erupted over the October 7 intelligence failures, a more profound crisis is now taking center stage: the failure of the Gaza war itself. The consequences of this military setback are boomeranging back, creating turmoil inside the government and across Israeli society.
The Israeli public is struggling to come to terms with the outcome of the Gaza campaign, a bitter reality that the offensive did little to address the root causes of the October 7.
From the Israeli perspective, their military, despite its overwhelming firepower and widespread destruction, failed to achieve its declared primary objective, namely destruction of Hamas. The failure is so evident that media outlets, analysts, and even the regime’s own intelligence agencies have recently admitted that Hamas is not only still intact but is already rebuilding its military capabilities and reasserting its control over Gaza.
This admission has left Israeli security and political officials scrambling for cover. They are resorting to every possible tactic to evade blame, acutely aware that Israeli society will not forget those it deems primarily responsible for a historic debacle that plunged the occupied territories into a continuing cycle of security and political crises.
This situation shows that Netanyahu efforts to cover up and clear himself of the October 7 case has failed and he has not settled the crisis of lack of army, security institutions, and public trust in the cabinet.
Actually, these measures are more a political show than a real solution to the crisis, with its main aim maintaining Netanyahu’s position in power, while they are far from being capable of changing the field conditions and managing the crisis. This gap between the media image and reality highlights the depth of the inefficiency in handling the crisis in Israel.
