From the Liveblog of
Monday, September 1, 2025
In cabinet clash, far-right minister accuses IDF chief of cowardice over his support for hostage deal
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock clashed with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir during yesterday’s cabinet meeting, implying that that the top military commander was a coward, Hebrew media reports.
Zamir expressed support for a partial hostage deal with Hamas despite the issue not being on the agenda, prompting pushback from far-right lawmaker Strock, whom national broadcaster Kan quoted as citing the Biblical verse “Is there anyone afraid and disheartened? Let him go back to his home, lest the courage of his comrades flag like his.”
Hitting back, Zamir declared that he had two missions, “preventing a nuclear Iran and destroying Hamas,” leading Strock to once again recite the verse.
In response, Zamir apparently raised his voice and said that he had called for the operation in Iran, declaring that he “approves strikes everywhere. No one is fearful and fainthearted.”
“If you want blind discipline, bring somebody else,” he declared, prompting agreement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said, “I don’t want blind discipline.”
Responding to the incident, Blue and White-National Unity chairman Benny Gantz tweets that Israelis “deserve a cabinet that backs the IDF.”
The Times of Israel Community.