The mistrust and mutual loathing between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz is holding Israel’s military hostage and poses a real threat to the country's national security.
It is what pushed Netanyahu to obfuscate the negotiations with the UAE and the American F-35 sale from both the IDF and the Defense Ministry.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz
(Photo: Haim Orenstein)
It’s also what pushed Gantz to prohibit any IDF officers from accompanying the National Security Council delegation to Sudan this week - a move many in the defense establishment believe caused no small amount of damage to Israel.
This ongoing feud is also what made Netanyahu conceal his secret trip to Saudi Arabia on Sunday, while his military secretary Brig. Gen. Avi Bluth was told not to inform his superior officers of the visit.
Both Israel and the IDF are in an impossible bind brought on by Netanyahu and Gantz' never-ending political war, which has created an intolerable situation that poses a very real threat to the defense of the country.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his military secretary, Brig. Gen. Avi Bluth
(Photo: GPO)
And while IDF officers are prohibited from being interviewed about the ongoing situation, it is safe to assume they have quite a lot to say.
We are on the precipice of a fourth round of elections in less than two years, and throughout this entire period the IDF has functioned without a multi-year budget, and has found itself in the midst of numerous political scuffles, affecting important projects such as weapons acquisition.
The obfuscation of the trip to Saudi Arabia - when Netanyahu met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks that apparently touched on Iran and a potential normalization of relations between Jerusalem and Riyadh - is not just a political issue.
It also involved a flight to a country still categorized as an enemy state with both the prime minister and the director of the Mossad intelligence agency, Yossi Cohen, on board.
As we know, flight malfunctions can happen, often with catastrophic results, so what justification was there to keep such an important flight from the Israeli Air Force?