MK Gideon Sa’ar, minister-without-portfolio, demanded on Tuesday that the National Security Cabinet (NSC) be convened immediately to discuss the IDF’s “decrease of intensity” in the Gaza Strip, in what appears to be an argument against the policy of his party leader, Minister-without-portfolio and war cabinet member, MK Benny Gantz.
“Decreasing the intensity of IDF activity in the Strip and reducing the size of the forces there in the current situation are wrong. The cabinet must decide on increasing military pressure on Hamas immediately,” he stated.
“It must also be defined that changes like the campaign will be based on the examination of the progress in achieving the goals, and not according to timetables.”
Sa’ar’s statement followed a barrage of over 50 rockets from the Gaza Strip into Netivot and the surrounding areas, reportedly from areas that the IDF had evacuated in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Sa’ar’s demand echoed that of ministers from the far-right Otzma Yehudit Party, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, who said following the rocket barrage that retreating from northern Gaza was a mistake.
Netanyahu, Gantz have not responded to Sa'ar's demand
Ben-Gvir said in a statement that the retreat was a “severe mistake that will cost lives.” He called for a complete takeover of the Strip, adding that Otzma Yehudit viewed as unacceptable the “bypassing of the National Security Cabinet via the small (war) cabinet.”
The smaller war cabinet is responsible for the day-to-day management of the war and meets frequently. It includes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Gantz. Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Minister-without-portfolio Gadi Eisenkot, and Shas chairman MK Arye Deri serve as observers.
The larger, statutory National Security Committee, which currently includes 14 ministers and two additional ministers who serve as observers, convenes to approve significant decisions made by the war cabinet. Arguments have erupted several times during the war over what qualifies as a “significant decision”.
Netanyahu, who heads both cabinets, has not responded to Sa’ar’s demand. Nor has Gantz, the leader of his party. Sa’ar is head of the New Hope faction within the National Unity Party. On issues of national security, New Hope is considered further to the Right than Gantz’s Blue and White faction, and Sa’ar’s veiled criticism of the war cabinet, which includes Gantz, is one of several public differences of opinion that have led some political analysts to wonder whether the two will run together in a future election.
A spokesperson for Sa’ar denied that the demand to convene the NSC was a challenge to Gantz’s leadership, stating merely that “Sa’ar has his own opinions.”
Sa’ar’s comment about avoiding a set timetable came in the wake of Gallant’s comment during a press conference on Monday evening, that the IDF’s operations in the southern Gaza area would end “soon”. More specifically, Sa’ar opined during an interview on Channel 12 on Monday, soon after Gallant’s statement, that the IDF should not retreat from Khan Yunis without achieving a strategically significant accomplishment.
A spokesperson for Gallant clarified on Tuesday that the defense minister had misspoken and that the operation in Khan Yunis will continue as long as necessary and is not limited to a specific timetable.