From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Katz: IDF spokesperson will be disciplined for saying coalition bill threatens national security
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Defense Minister Israel Katz says “disciplinary action” will be taken against IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari for his harsh criticism of the so-called Feldstein Law.
“The criticism of the IDF Spokesman against the political echelon and against the legislative process in the Knesset is a grave phenomenon and a complete deviation from his authority and what is allowed and expected of a uniformed person in a democratic regime,” Katz says in a statement.
“I intend to take disciplinary action against him as soon as possible to draw the necessary conclusions,” he adds.
The law being advanced by lawmakers would make it impossible for soldiers and other members of the defense establishment to be prosecuted for giving classified intelligence, without authorization, to the prime minister or defense minister.
The proposed law comes in response to charges against Eli Feldstein, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and an unnamed IDF reservist relating to their alleged involvement in the leak of stolen classified intelligence information to the foreign press.
Hagari said in a press conference this evening that the law is “very dangerous for the IDF and the security of the state” as it would allow any junior official to steal documents from the army and leak them without proper approvals.
