Gantz meets IDF chief, says security situation ‘worrying’; Lapid meets Shin Bet head

Rare meetings are held between top opposition leaders and security chiefs, with the approval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. National Unity party head Benny Gantz meets IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, while Opposition Leader Yair Lapid sits down with Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

Gantz meets Halevi to receive a brief of the situation within the military, which has been rocked by more than 10,000 reservists — including hundreds of fighter pilots — saying they will halt their volunteer duty in protest of the government’s judicial overhaul.

After the meeting, Gantz says: “The security situation is very worrying and necessitates attention and strategic decisions on various fronts. The prime minister must convene a security cabinet meeting to understand the meaning of the [overhaul] legislation for the IDF before the bill passes. This is also true regarding the need to convene the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Tonight’s meeting underlined even more the need to avoid unilateral moves.”

Gantz promises that even if the reasonableness bill ends up passing, “we will cancel it, sooner or later.”

After Lapid’s meeting with Bar, the Yesh Atid party leader says he received a security overview about the threats “from within and from outside,” and stressed his concern about national cohesion.

“We have joint responsibility to safeguard national security and national unity.”