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Bennett takes over as defense minister amid Gaza fighting
New Right MK Naftali Bennett takes over as defense minister with the “passing of the baton” from Prime Minister Netanyahu, who had also held the defense portfolio.
The Defense Ministry publishes photos of Bennett and Netanyahu meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi, National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat, and the military secretaries to the prime and defense minister.
Bennett’s assumption of the Defense Ministry helm comes amid fighting between Israel and Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip after the Israeli military killed Islamic Jihad commander Baha Abu al-Ata.
New Defense Minister Naftali Bennett meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L), IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi (R) and Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter, the military secretary to the defense minister, on November 12, 2019. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
