Ya'alon, Bennett battle over defense minister post
WIth elections looming, political feuds get heated as Bayit Yehudi leader Bennett lashes out at current defense minister, after Ya'alon says Bennett used summer war for political gain.
As the March 17 elections become closer, the political feuds have more stormy – especially between Bayit Yehudi leader and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett and current defense minister Moshe Ya’alon, a member of the Likud and former IDF chief of staff.
Both men are vying for the defense minister position in the upcoming government and as such, the competition between the two men has become heated – especially on the subject of the summer war with Gaza.
In an interview with Army Radio, Ya’alon blamed Bennett for being preoccupied with politics during Operation Protective Edge. “Whoever makes a war into politics – for me he’s cast to the side,” said Ya’alon.”
“Both the prime minister and myself were forced to publicly criticize the conduct of cabinet ministers during the operation,” said Ya’alon.
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Bennett, currently in the US along with Netanyahu, was quick to hit back and criticize Ya’alon.
“We won’t conduct politics while the prime minister and minister Bennett are in a diplomatic mission in the United States and we call upon the defense minister to act accordingly," said a statement from Bennett's office.
"The defense minister’s votes to prevent the operation against the tunnels speak for themselves, and despite this he should keep his cool.”
Bennett also demanded that Ya’alon release the findings of a report gathered by the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee about Operation Protective Edge.
“I woke up this morning in Washington to a noisy attack against by Minister Bogie Ya’alon,” wrote Bennnett, referring to the defense minister by his nickname.
“So here it is, so that it’s clear: In 10 cabinet meetings during the war, I demanded we take action against the tunnels. You declined, Bogie. Declined. The residents of the south were in danger, and you declined. On July 15, you voted against carrying out an operation against the tunnels and voted to accept a cease-fire deal with Hamas (!), when the tunnels were ready for action. Luckily, Hamas did not keep to the cease-fire,” said Bennett.
“You declined to get rid of the threat of tunnels,” continued Bennett. “The reasons were shocking in my opinion. Legitimate, but wrong. The residents of the south left their homes, children in the south were scared to go to sleep, and you declined to take action. We took action too late – we paid too heavy of a price. You know the truth, Bogie, you know it perfectly well. Give the order to publish the results of the investigation into Operation Protective Edge,” wrote Bennett.
Ya’alon’s office refused to respond to Bennett’s criticism, claiming they were not willing to publish information from inside the cabinet meeting “as Bennett does.”
The political battles between cabinet ministers over Operation Protective Edge did not start with Ya’alon and Bennett. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who also sees himself as a possible candidate for defense minister in the next government, attacked Ya’alon last month and blamed him for his conduct during the war, saying that he did not act against Hamas in a way that brought pride to the country.
Lieberman also criticized Netanyahu and blamed him for not destroying Hamas’ power as he promised.
