Prime Minister Naftali Bennett stirred controversy after mixing up the name of a border policeman who was gravelly hurt on the Gaza Strip border with that of his father.
On Sunday, the premier phoned the family of the soldier who was wounded over the weekend — Barel Hadaria Shmueli — and asked to know how Yossi was faring. Yossi is the name of Barel's father.
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Wounded border policeman Barel Hadaria Shmueli and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett
(Photo: Courtesy of the Shmueli family, Yonatan Zindel)
Shmueli was wounded when Palestinian protesters stormed the Gaza border barrier and one member of the crowd fired a handgun through an opening in the wall, hitting the soldier in the head.
The Shmueli family released a recording of Mr. Shmueli's conversation with the prime minister to Israeli media on Monday.
After Bennett’s mistake, an aggrieved Yossi Shmueli can be heard asking the premier, “why do you continue with these failures? Why? Why? If [soldiers] get hurt under your direction, how will you feel?"
Bennet had no response.
“Shoot, don’t shoot, shoot like that, get an order from the Border Patrol,” a visibly upset Yossi Shmueli told Bennett, lambasting the stringent rules of engagement servicemembers must adhere to when under threat.
“Don't you know how to make decisions? Are you scared? Wake up. Who are you afraid of?” he asked. Shmueli went on to call the prime minister and his government "cowards."
The Prime Minister’s Office released a statement in which Naftali Bennett apologized for his mistake.
“Mixing up Barel’s name with his father’s was an honest mistake, and I would like to apologize for this from the bottom of my heart,” read the statement. “There are no words to describe the pain and anguish the family is going through at this time."
“Again, I would like to stand by the family in this difficult time and regret that they feel hurt. The entire people of Israel are praying for Barel’s recovery."