PM asks for one more hearing ahead of release of Gaza war findings
Netanyahu to present State Comptroller with information on 13 cabinet meetings in which tunnel threat was discussed
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State Comptroller Yosef Shapira is expected to approve a request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to conduct one more hearing with him sometime next week, ahead of the publication of a report into the government’s handling of the 2014 Gaza war between Israel and Hamas and in which Shapira is said to sharply criticize the prime minister and other senior officials.
According to media sources who reviewed the 70-page document some months ago, Shapira accuses Netanyahu, then defense minister Moshe Ya’alon and then-IDF chief Benny Gantz of failing to provide the security cabinet with real-time updates regarding the imminent threat of war with Hamas and the capabilities of the terror group’s cross-border attack tunnels.
A number of tunnels were used by Hamas fighters to infiltrate Israel and carry out deadly attacks on troops during the Gaza Strip conflict in the summer of 2014. During that campaign, dubbed in Israel “Operation Protective Edge,” Israeli forces discovered and destroyed at least 34 tunnels, many of them leading into Israeli territory.
According to the expected ombudsman’s report, the prime minister and the defense minister were also said to conceal warnings from the Shin Bet security agency, which warned of the potential for war with Hamas in early July 2014. The conflict began on July 8.
An internal IDF report earlier this month found that the army was aware tunnels were being used by Hamas but combat units were not prepared sufficiently to deal with the threat.
Netanyahu is set to present Shapira in the upcoming hearing with information on 13 cabinet sessions in which he claims the issue of the tunnels was discussed in depth, Channel 2 reported Wednesday.
Netanyahu has repeatedly denied that cabinet members were not apprised of the threats but two of his chief political rivals, Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, both of whom were cabinet members during the war, have claimed that the cabinet was not properly informed on the issues.
The State Comptroller’s office confirmed that Shapira will meet with Netanyahu, but said that their meeting will only deal with topics not previously discussed in meetings between them.
The Office of the State Comptroller said that Netanyahu’s presentation of additional information will not delay the release of the report and that it will be released as scheduled.
The Times of Israel Community.