Netanyahu: "The families of the abductees cannot put themselves in the place of the political echelon"/GPO
Tension in the War Cabinet: Defense Minister Yoav Galant left the War Cabinet meeting that convened this evening (Saturday) after the Prime Minister's Office refused to admit his chief of staff to the discussion, claiming that it was a discussion without aides present. According to two sources familiar with the details, aides to National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi and others did participate, and therefore Galant decided to abandon the discussion.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office say the discussion was scheduled in advance without the participation of aides and advisers. The defense minister was not allowed to bring in advisers, and his anger came out that Netanyahu had the military secretary, the chief of staff, the head of the National Security Council and his assistant, and the cabinet secretary sitting on Netanyahu's behalf.
Tension in the War Cabinet. Galant and Netanyahu/Flash 90, Noam Rivkin Fenton
The incident comes amid ongoing and growing tensions between the prime minister, defense minister and their offices since the beginning of the war. Among other things, the Prime Minister's Office occasionally refuses to approve entry permits for Galant's chief of staff, which causes periodic clashes. Channel 12 News reported in recent weeks that Netanyahu also forbade the head of the Mossad and the Shin Bet from participating in strategic discussions on the issue of abductees and missing persons.
Relations between Netanyahu and Galant ran aground at the end of March, when the prime minister fired the defense minister following his warning of the security risks of the legal revolution. After the great public protest that broke out on the night of the dismissal, Netanyahu froze the decision and finally announced that he had retracted his decision.
Since then, at least externally, the two have demonstrated a good working relationship in recent months, but behind the scenes serious disagreements have emerged, mainly over the promotion of the legal revolution and the crisis in the Air Force and the reserves. Galant voted in favor of the law at the end of July to abolish the reasonableness clause, but he and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy warned Netanyahu about the crisis of competence in the army, and he refused their demand to announce a freeze on the legal revolution. Tensions continued into the war after October 7 and have escalated in recent weeks.
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