Former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot spoke out on Monday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's push to sign a Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States, calling it unnecessary.
Eisenkot said the idea is not compatible with Israel's capabilities today. "It was a valid idea in the 1950s, but today Israel is able to defend itself," he told the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv.
The former military chief said special relations with the U.S. are important and must be advanced but not by signing such an agreement.
"If nuclear weapons are introduced into the Middle East by an adversary, then Israel should reconsider this option."
In response to a question about any political aspirations Eisenkot might have, the general said he has the utmost respect for the military chiefs who have entered politics and knows they are acting out of a sense of responsibility for the country.
"A long military service teaches about serving one's country. You are working for something greater than yourself," he said.
The initiative to advance a Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States is being pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who claims it is important for Israel's security.
Last week, Netanyahu met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Lisbon, followed by a press briefing in which the prime minister said that Pompeo and he discussed the issue.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
(Photo: GPO)
"We will ensure Israel and the IDF have complete freedom of operation," he said.
Netanyahu added that this is one of the major challenges the country will be facing in the coming months, regardless of political outcomes. "We've decided to speed this along," Netanyahu told reporters and added that he had raised the subject with Blue and White leader Benny Gantz but the latter opposed the idea.
"I told him I thought he was making a mistake," he said adding that the opportunity should be seized before the U.S. enters its election season.
"There are other achievements we can achieve now," the prime minister said but conceded that new elections in Israel may curtail any effort to advance the defense treaty as well as the plan to annex parts of the West Bank.