Both the foreign minister and the finance minister came out Sunday against former Mossad Chief Meir Dagan's statements on the consequences of a possible attack on Iran in which he said that "attacking Iran is a foolish idea without any advantage whatsoever."
Ahead of Sunday's government meeting Minister Yuval Steinitz said "Dagan was a fantastic Mossad chief and it is a shame that he made such an unnecessary statement."
On a visit to the Gaza vicinity Defense Minister Ehud Barak alsoaddressed Dagan's remarks and said that he believes that the former Mossad chief should not have shared his personal thoughts with everyone.
"Meir Dagan is a man of merit but with all due caution, I don't think his statement was correct. These are decisions that in their nature belong in the political echelons.
During his visit Barak also addressed the controversy surrounding the recognition ofthe three firemen who were killed in the Carmel fire disaster among Israel's fallen.
"We do not oppose the recognition, far from it. In today's reality the Home Front and battlefront are one and the same. Dealing with battling on the home front rests on the shoulders of the rescue services, firefighters, Magen David Adom and the police – all are a part of the fighting.
"It is clear that the issue of commemoration and benefits needs to be looked into, but we must think first and act later. The details need to be thrashed out with various representative organizations and all these steps must be taken swiftly.
"Their names will be called out at tomorrow's ceremonies I assume and believe that we will find a way to impose upon a group of ministers to propose a formulated proposal."
Ronen Medzini contributed to this report