Ben Gvir says ministers should have say on internal army issues; IDF chief: You’re wrong

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir reportedly harangued IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi during a security cabinet meeting on Monday, berating him over the suspension of several soldiers who had filmed themselves singing Hanukkah songs and reciting the Jewish Shema (Hear, O Israel) prayer over a loudspeaker system in a mosque in the West Bank city of Jenin.

According to leaks to Hebrew media, during a security briefing delivered to the cabinet by Halevi, Ben Gvir criticized the decision to suspend the soldiers involved in the incident, accusing the chief of staff of harming the morale of the troops and asserting cabinet responsibility for internal IDF decisions.

Halevi retorted that the cabinet has no such right, and reportedly at one point warned Ben Gvir not to threaten him.

Several other ministers also critiqued the IDF and the progress of the war during the Monday night meeting, leaks from the discussion indicated.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant later publicly defended the chief of staff and castigated “irresponsible” ministers.

“I want to know that the soldiers who chanted the Shema at the mosque are returning to active duty,” far-right minister Ben Gvir demanded of Halevi. “If you had punished them without sharing it with the media, it would have been an internal military matter. From the moment it was released to the media, it became a public matter; it hurts the morale of the soldiers and the other side also sees it.”

In response, Halevi reminded Ben Gvir that the army “is the one who decides about the soldiers. We are talking about IDF soldiers, and we make decisions about them, it isn’t a matter for the cabinet.”

He added that the soldiers’ actions violated the army’s code of conduct and went against the values of the IDF.

The incident in the Jenin mosque occurred amid a three-day operation in the northern West Bank city, during which troops detained hundreds of suspects and seized weapons.

In a statement announcing their suspension, the military said the soldiers’ behavior was “completely contrary to IDF values.”

Not satisfied with Halevi’s response, Ben Gvir doubled down on his insistence that the government should have had input in the decision.

“Of course it’s a matter for the cabinet. From the moment you publish it in the media and say that you suspended soldiers, it must be a matter for the cabinet, it is a matter of policy.

“I am a cabinet member, I am the political echelon. We decide,” he added.

Ben Gvir continued, according to a Channel 12 report of the meeting: “Oy va voy if [the soldiers involved] are booted out.”

“You are wrong. I will decide what is or isn’t moral behavior in the army. Don’t threaten me,” Halevi responded.

Several ministers came to Halevi’s defense, telling Ben Gvir not to speak rudely to the chief of staff.

“Ma’am, don’t tell me what to do,” Ben Gvir told Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton of the center-right National Unity party.

“Don’t call me ma’am,” she replied.

According to Kan news, Ben Gvir later attempted to place himself above Halevi in the hierarchy, telling him that “in a democratic country, the army is subordinate to the political structures and not the other way around.”

On Tuesday evening, Defense Minister Gallant publicly denounced “irresponsible” politicians without naming Ben Gvir or other ministers, in a statement reiterating his support for the decision made by Halevi.

“The State of Israel and the IDF are privileged to have a brave, moral and experienced chief of staff during a difficult and complex war,” he wrote on X. “The IDF will continue to act resolutely, in accordance with the moral compass based on Israeli tradition, the law, and the spirit of the IDF.

“I will continue to support the IDF and the chief of staff against irresponsible politicians who are trying to make political gains on the backs of the commanders who bear the brunt of the war,” he added.

During Monday night’s security cabinet meeting, several ministers also impatiently asked Halevi when the IDF would destroy Hamas and kill its leaders.

In what was characterized as an “infantile exchange,” Channel 12 quoted several ministers as asking Halevi, “When will we see an achievement?” They specified that by “an achievement,” they meant bringing home the hostages, destroying Hamas’s capabilities and eliminating its commanders.

Halevi, in response, reportedly told the ministers, “Hitting the commanders takes time. It took [the US] 10 years to deliver the head of [Osama] bin Laden. The best people are working on it here, so it’ll take a lot less time.”

Justice Minister Yariv Levin retorted: “We went into Gaza so that it would take 10 years? It’ll take 10 years to destroy Hamas?”

Chiming in, Miri Regev asked, “Who’ll be here to see the result?” to which Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Levin and Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel responded, “We will. We’ll be here in another 10 years.”

Unsatisfied, Regev again repeated, “We need it in a lot less than 10 years.”

Ministers also reportedly criticized Halevi for the IDF ostensibly being surprised to discover a massive Hamas tunnel in northern Gaza, which the military publicized on Sunday.

Likud’s David Amsalem reportedly asked: “How could we have been surprised by that tunnel?”

Regev: “Why the celebration at exposing a tunnel? What was happening while we were sleeping? There’s a movie with that name, ‘While You Were Sleeping’.”

Halevi: “I wasn’t sleeping. We weren’t surprised, and not everything has to be said out loud.”

Regev: “I wasn’t referring to you, but there’s a reality that we have to understand how it happened.”

Ministers also reportedly asked security officials at the meeting how Israel could gain greater leverage over Hamas.

Regev: “What influences the Hamas leadership? Maybe what would have influence is what various experts [an apparent reference to former IDF general Giora Eiland] who have appeared before the cabinet have suggested, to carry out starvation?”

National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi: “What are you on about? We’re not talking about starvation here.”

Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara: “Starvation is a war crime.”

Regev said she wanted to clarify “for the protocol” that an expert had spoken at the cabinet and suggested starvation. “I asked what you think of what your former colleague said. Maybe that would influence Hamas’s leadership.”

Halevi, using a Hebrew expression: “You make a bonfire out of trees, not advice.”

The ministers also argued over how to move to the next phases of the war and what would constitute destroying Hamas. Ben Gvir said: “We need to stay in Gaza.” Regev said: “There must be no Hamas.”

Minister Gadi Eisenkot, a former chief of staff, said Israel needed to move away from high-intensity fighting as soon as possible, to boost its international legitimacy. “The public does not understand that when we say, ‘Bringing down Hamas and destroying its capabilities,’ that doesn’t mean there won’t be any more Hamas.”

Halevi: “We won’t get to every last Hamas operative but we will destroy its capacity to operate. We’ll check a year from now if we achieved the aims of the war or not.”

Former IDF operations chief Yisrael Ziv said Tuesday night that the ministers showed an utter lack of responsibility and that their behavior was unacceptable at a time of war. “This is total absence of leadership,” he said. “It’s fortunate that Herzi is running the war and not these people.”

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.