Two senior ministers boycotted vote to approve Yemen strike, protesting belated update
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Justice Minister Yariv Levin reportedly complained that key information reached them after the fact, turning body into ‘rubber stamp’
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Two senior ministers in the security cabinet boycotted the vote to approve Israel’s strike in Yemen on Saturday, protesting the hurried fashion in which it was carried out, according to Hebrew-language media.
Ministers in the security cabinet approved the operation at a meeting that began at around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Channel 12 reported, having been summoned to the meeting just 45 minutes earlier.
The summons was issued by National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, who ordered them not to discuss the meeting.
The meeting lasted for four hours. The attack was carried out while the ministers were gathered.
However, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Justice Minister Yariv Levin chose not to participate in the vote.
According to the Walla news outlet, Smotrich refused to do so because crucial information was sent from the defense establishment to the Knesset after the attack was already underway.
“I asked not to participate in the vote because details that would allow us to come to a decision were not sent to the cabinet,” wrote Smotrich to explain his decision, “and the issue came up for a vote after the fact as a rubber stamp, and I said I trust the prime minister’s decision.”
Smotrich also wrote that while he backs the strike, “at the same time we can and must do more.”
Levin boycotted the vote for the same reason, reported Channel 12 news.
On Saturday morning, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held a meeting with senior military officials, during which the strike was approved.
The Israeli Air Force struck the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeida in western Yemen on Saturday, the military and local media said, a day after a drone launched by the Iran-backed group struck Tel Aviv, killing an Israeli man.
The plans for Israel’s strike in Yemen had been drawn up in advance, and were implemented in the wake of the early Friday Houthi strike, according to the Channel 12 report.
The report noted that the security cabinet must approve actions that could potentially lead to war. It said that, in this case, “there is of course the possibility of a significant response.”
The network also said that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara insisted that the security cabinet be convened to approve the attack.
It is extremely unusual for cabinet meetings to convene on Shabbat.
The decision in principle to carry out the operation had been taken earlier, the report noted, to ensure that the window of opportunity was not missed.
The operation was subjected to military censorship until Saturday evening.
Israel informed the United States ahead of the strike, Channel 12 said, as well as other allies — “presumably” including Egypt and others in the region who would need to not be surprised.
The attack marked the first time the Israel Defense Forces has conducted strikes in Yemen. The attack was named by the military “Operation Outstretched Arm.”
The IAF strike on the port was aimed at preventing the Houthis from importing Iranian weapons, as well as causing the Iran-backed rebels financial damage.
According to the Israeli military, the port has been used repeatedly to bring in weapons from Iran, and therefore Israel saw it as a legitimate military target.
At least a dozen IAF aircraft, including F-35 stealth fighter jets, F-15 fighters, reconnaissance aircraft and refueling planes were involved in the attack — the latter of which was due to the target being some 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) from Israel.
Israel had threatened a response to the deadly drone attack on Tel Aviv early Friday, which killed Yevgeny Ferder, 50. The Iranian-made drone launched by the Houthis was not intercepted by air defenses due to a “human error,” the military said.
According to the IDF, Yemen’s Houthis in the past nine months have fired over 220 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones at Israel — mostly toward the southernmost city of Eilat — in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, where Israel is battling to destroy Hamas in the wake of the terror group’s invasion and slaughter in southern Israel on October 7.
