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Report: PM consulted secretly during Gaza war with controversial former general-turned political rival
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Defense Minister Naftali Bennett meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L), IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi (R) and Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter, the military secretary to the defense minister (at rear), on November 12, 2019. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held secret meetings during the early months of the Gaza war with controversial former IDF general Ofer Winter, who unveiled his new right-wing party on Tuesday, Channel 13 reveals.
The meetings were held at private apartments in Tel Aviv, and the premier did not update his cabinet or the IDF about them, the network says.
Winter, during the meetings, reportedly presented Netanyahu with plans for the IDF to conquer Gaza.
Channel 13 uses the revelation to argue that Netanyahu’s attacks on Tuesday against Winter are politically, rather than ideologically, motivated.
The network says Netanyahu recognizes that Winter’s new party is uniquely situated to siphon off hard-right voters from the premier’s Likud party.
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