Report: Ben Gvir, Smotritch, invited to join tonight’s security consultations with Netanyahu, top defense brass
Far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich were reportedly invited to join security consultations Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding tonight with ministers and top defense officials as the country braces for the possibility of a large-scale assault from Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The meeting comes hours after the Israel Defense Forces carried out a wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in the afternoon and evening and after officials issued new restrictions on residents of the Haifa area and northward.
While Ben Gvir and Smotrich are not usually invited to such security consultations, the Ynet News site report includes a reaction from Netanyahu’s office denying that the invitations are out of the ordinary: “As we have been saying all along – there is no new limited security forum. Various ministers are invited to consultations as relevant.”
Netanyahu disbanded the war cabinet, a small forum created on October 11 to manage the campaigns against Hamas and Hezbollah, after National Unity leader Benny Gantz bolted the coalition in June.