Eisenkot says Gallant, Netanyahu downplaying damage to IDF from reservist protests

10 August 2023, 5:48 pm

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National Unity MK Gadi Eisenkot speaks during a conference at Ben-Gurion House in Tel Aviv on July 25, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90, File)

Opposition MK and former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are downplaying the damage to the military caused by the refusal of thousands of reservists to volunteer for duty.

In an interview with the Walla news site, Eisenkot says Netanyahu and Gallant “are painting an incorrect picture.”

“This is very complicated,” he says, adding that the military has already been harmed.

“The IDF is still strong and can achieve its goals, but if this situation continues in the coming months the army will be damaged. Confidence in the chain of command has already been damaged, and so has solidarity.”

“I advise them not to try and hide things, but to look at the reality,” he says.”