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Two ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government have lashed out at the head of Israel’s army, with one calling for his dismissal, as a spat between the country’s political and military leaders intensifies.
Ministers have feuded increasingly publicly with the head of the army, Eyal Zamir, in recent days, over issues from Netanyahu’s plan to take over Gaza, which senior military officials fear will overstretch the army and endanger hostages still held by Hamas, to a raft of military appointments.
On Wednesday, the attacks on Zamir — who was appointed by Netanyahu in March — escalated further, with far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir calling on Netanyahu to sack him unless he “immediately announce[s] that he is replacing his far-left political hive” of advisers.
“When you see who the people close to the chief of staff are, it is understandable why he is standing on his hind legs against our plan to occupy Gaza,” Ben-Gvir said in a statement.
The attacks are the latest sign of the rift that has emerged between Israel’s political and military leaders as they weigh the next moves in their 22-month-long offensive against Hamas in Gaza, which has killed more than 61,500 Palestinians, according to local officials, caused a humanitarian catastrophe in the enclave and drawn intense international criticism.
The bickering has spilled over into a tussle over military appointments, with defence minister Israel Katz on Wednesday claiming a series of promotions proposed by Zamir this week had been put forward without following proper procedures, which he said had caused “unnecessary harm”.
“The attempt now to change the procedures we have been working on, perhaps on the advice of a group of anti-government consultants stirring the pot . . . will not work,” Katz said.
The feuding broke into the open last week. Netanyahu ordered the armed forces to “prepare” to invade Gaza City, even as the military pushed for a more limited campaign, arguing Netanyahu’s plan would stretch the army to its limits and endanger the 50 Israeli hostages — 20 of whom are believed to be alive — still being held by Hamas in Gaza.
As the dispute came to a head, allies of Netanyahu and Zamir traded barbs in a series of leaks to the Israeli media, with Netanyahu’s son accusing the military chief of attempting a “coup”.
Zamir said on Wednesday that he had approved the “main framework” for the “next steps” in Gaza. But the disagreements have exacerbated bitter divisions between Netanyahu’s government and the army that sprung up in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack on Israel, in which militants killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, according to Israeli officials.
Several military chiefs have resigned over the failings that led up to Hamas’s attack, which caused the worst loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust.
But Netanyahu has refused to take any personal responsibility, and angered many of his compatriots by repeatedly blocking attempts to hold a public inquiry into the debacle.
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