Finance Minister Bezalel Smortich on Wednesday said only the military was to blame for the failures leading up to and on October 7.
In an interview, Smotrich who is also a minister in the Defense Ministry said the massacre perpetrated by Hamas had nothing to do with him. "It was not my fault, It was the result of a crazy military intelligence and operational failure."
The minister then went on to say that those who were responsible for the worst attack on Israel since its establishment, "have no shame in their criticism of me."
He has been criticized for his West Bank policies by officials in Israel's security agencies including his refusal to transfer tax revenues collected by Israel for the Palestinian Authority, to Ramallah. The officials told Ynet that Smotrich openly declared his aim was to dissolve the PA. "He is using his position in the Defense Ministry and his role as finance minister to promote a policy that could lead to a violent explosion," the officials warned.
Smotrich is not the first to shrug off any responsibility for the horrific events that launched the war in Gaza. Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf famously asked what has the government to do with the massacre. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to accept any responsibility despite being in power for most of the past 17 years. Netanyahu has also refused to agree to a national commission of inquiry into the events.
When asked whether Netanyahu's long-years at the helm did not mean he had some bearing on the failures he said, that he too had criticism of the prime minister, but Netanyahu was currently the best man to lead the country. "If the left were it power, the situation would be much worse," he said.