Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his hand-picked army chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, clashed last week over a plan for a full military takeover of the Gaza Strip, a move the military leadership opposes.
Over several days of what the Financial Times described as “coordinated” leaks, Netanyahu and Zamir exchanged public accusations regarding the prime minister’s plan to expand Israeli control to the entire Gaza Strip, home to about 2.1 million Palestinians. The dispute has opened a significant rift between the government and the military.
The newspaper noted that ministers in Netanyahu’s government have reminded the army that it must comply with their orders, while Netanyahu’s son accused the army chief of “attempting a coup”.
At the end of a contentious, 10-hour security cabinet meeting, Netanyahu used his authority over Zamir and ordered the Israeli military to “prepare” for a full takeover of Gaza City. The order came despite army warnings that such a move would “strain an already exhausted force and endanger the lives of Israeli hostages”.
Netanyahu rejected an alternative plan proposed by Zamir, calling it “a surrender that will achieve neither the defeat of Hamas nor the return of the hostages”. Despite his opposition, Zamir said on Saturday that the army would implement the plan for a full takeover of Gaza City “in the best way possible”.
Israel currently controls about 75% of the Gaza Strip. Gaza City, along with several refugee camps in central Gaza, is part of the remaining 25% not under Israeli control.
Internal divisions
The Financial Times noted that while this is not the first time Israeli political and military leaders have clashed publicly, the dispute comes at a time of growing international isolation for Israel over its conduct in the Gaza war. The rift threatens to “deepen internal divisions and undermine trust in state institutions, as Netanyahu seeks to use the Israeli army for his political gain”.
A former senior Israeli security official said: “Politicians used to listen to the army… Things have changed in Israel since those days… There was much less politics back then… Under this government, tectonic changes are taking place.”
Charged meetings
The British newspaper reported that cabinet meetings are often filled with shouting and mutual accusations between hardline ministers and between ministers and military officials, with meetings ending in leaks from all sides to “score political points”.
The frequency and scale of these accusations have significantly increased since the start of the Gaza war, fuelled by Israel’s political divisions. The Financial Times noted Netanyahu’s attempts to blame security chiefs for the 7 October attack, while refraining from expressing any personal responsibility. The New York Times reported that Netanyahu’s aides even searched the former chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, who later resigned over the 7 October failures, for listening devices before he entered briefings.
Netanyahu’s hard-right allies have exploited his political dependence on them to push the Israeli military towards a full takeover of Gaza, the expulsion of Palestinians, and the re-establishment of settlers in the Strip. They have warned that stopping the war now would mean Hamas “will launch a new attack on Israel” after a period of time.
However, many current and former senior military officers see things differently. Most former Israeli military commanders and intelligence chiefs signed a letter stating that Hamas “has become a spent force, and Israel is now in a strong enough position to accept a ceasefire and end the war”.
Zamir, who took office in March, presented a plan that involved the Israeli army surrounding several areas in the Strip where Hamas fighters are believed to be located and launching targeted raids and strikes. Allies of Zamir presented his opposition to Netanyahu’s plan to the Israeli press as a way to spare the exhausted army further burdens and reduce risks to the lives of the 20 remaining Israeli hostages.
Sources close to Zamir said his plan “keeps the door open to the possibility of a ceasefire in which the hostages are returned”.
According to leaks to Israeli newspapers, Zamir admonished the security cabinet, saying that if the army were ordered to carry out Netanyahu’s plan, “they should consider removing the objective of releasing the hostages from the war’s goals”.
“When there are a lot of media campaigns and leaks about an operation, including disagreements between the government and the army, then you know there are other considerations going on behind the scenes,” said a person familiar with the work of the Israeli government.
