From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 30, 2024
Shas minister leads colleagues from across the aisles in call for restraint after mobs storm IDF bases
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. 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"
Politicians from right to left join Interior Minister Moshe Arbel (Shas) in a public appeal to pull back from “the abyss” after far-right mobs broke in to two IDF bases on Monday.
“Many Israeli citizens were heartbroken last night in the face of the break-ins at the IDF bases,” the lawmakers write, claiming to represent “the voice of the many Israelis who request that the IDF only engage in war against the cruel enemies who harm us, and that no politics and no rioters enter its gates.”
“Our fighters should overwhelm the enemy at the front and not protect IDF bases from their brothers,” they write, insisting that while they may differ on many issues, “including the question of investigating soldiers during wartime,” they all agree that the IDF should remain apolitical and that the independence of law enforcement and military rules “must be respected.”
Arbel is joined by MK Eli Dallal (Likud), MK Hili Tropper (National Unity), MK Moshe Solomon (Religious Zionism), MK Meirav Ben-Ari (Yesh Atid), MK Efrat Reiten (Labor) and MK Oded Forer (Yisrael Beytenu).
“We will not remain silent in the face of the danger of internal breakdown at the hands of extremist elements. We will not stand aside in the face of silence and certainly in the face of the [expressions] of irresponsible leaders, who roll us into the mouth of an abyss,” they continue — promising that anybody seeking to harm “our common home” will find him or herself faced with “a majority of Israelis” who support both the troops and law enforcement.
“We call on all public leaders to stop tearing us apart from the inside. We have one army. We have one country” and they must be kept “strong and united.”
