From the Liveblog of
Friday, May 17, 2024
‘We’ve heard enough from you generals’: Ben Gvir, Eisenkot spar in security cabinet meeting
During last night’s security cabinet meeting, an argument broke out between National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and National Unity MK Gadi Eisenkot, according to the Walla news site.
Eisenkot was in the midst of addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, lamenting that the government has avoided taking strategic decisions in the war for months. He began offering steps that he thought the government should take when he was interrupted by Ben Gvir.
“We’ve heard enough from you generals,” Ben Gvir said, accusing the former IDF chief Eisenkot of having been responsible for the policies that led to Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.
“Stop interrupting me,” Eisenkot shot back. “Remove your sandals,” he added, quoting a verse from the biblical book of Exodus, which ends “…for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” The remark appeared to urge Ben Gvir to show some respect to Eisenkot’s life of military service. Eisenkot also lost his son fighting in Gaza earlier on in the war.
The National Unity minister also took a swipe at Ben Gvir’s lack of military service, calling him a “draft-dodger.”
The far-right minister was barred from service due to his involvement in terror activity as a far-right activist.
The Times of Israel Community.