Outgoing official, who opposed strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and Gaza city op, says ‘terrible failure of October 7 must be thoroughly investigated’
ed note–please see the commentary for this here.
Times of Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday replaced his National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, effective immediately, after reported disagreements over policies during the war in Gaza.
A longtime senior Likud party member and minister since the 1990s, Hanegbi is said to have opposed Netanyahu’s plan to invade Gaza City over the summer, as well as last month’s unsuccessful strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar.
Gil Reich, who was Hanegbi’s deputy, will immediately become acting head of the National Security Council and National Security Adviser. Before taking up the deputy role in 2022, Reich served as deputy director of Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission.
Netanyahu released a statement thanking Hanegbi for his service and wishing him ‘much success in his future endeavors and good health.’
In his own statement, Hanegbi acknowledged disagreements with his former boss.
‘I thanked the prime minister for the privilege of being a partner in shaping Israel’s foreign and security policy during challenging years — for the opportunity to express an independent position in sensitive discussions, and for the professional dialogue we maintained, even in times of disagreement,’ he said.
He warned that the war that started on October 7, 2023, in which a ceasefire recently took effect, ‘has not yet ended.’
‘Our fighters remain on guard on many fronts,’ he said, ‘and the mission to bring all our hostages home has not yet been completed. Nor has the obligation yet been fulfilled — by diplomatic or military means — to ensure that the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip are removed from power, disarmed, and that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel.’
Netanyahu defined his goals in the war as returning the hostages, defeating Hamas, and ensuring that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel.
Hanegbi admitted his own responsibility for the ‘terrible failure of October 7,’ and — in an apparent message to the prime minister, who has long opposed a state commission of inquiry on the matter — said it ‘must be thoroughly investigated to ensure that the necessary lessons are learned and to help restore the public trust that has been shaken.’
‘We must all remain committed and attentive to the needs of those who have borne the dearest price of all — the bereaved families and the wounded, in body and soul,’ Hanegbi said.
He called for unity within Israeli society, casting it as ‘essential to ensuring the eternity of Israel.’
According to the Kan public broadcaster, Netanyahu told Hanegbi days ahead of his ousting that he would remain in the role, despite reports that the premier was unhappy with him.
Associates of Netanyahu told Kan that Hanegbi was leaking information to the press and was undermining the premier. They also suggested that Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister’s wife, long rumored to be intimately involved in high-level appointments, was unhappy with Hanegbi’s work.
Netanyahu has lost other key members of his inner circle as well. Chief of Staff Tzachi Braverman is heading to the Court of St. James to serve as Israel’s ambassador in London, and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is expected to step away from public service in the near future. Some Hebrew media reports Tuesday night said Dermer would resign in the next month, and that he had rejected the offer of a safe seat in the next Knesset.
The prime minister fired then-defense minister Yoav Gallant last November, IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi retired earlier this year, and several other senior military commanders and officials have stepped down in the wake of the October 7 failings.
However, Netanyahu has dismissed the idea of stepping down and has avoided taking responsibility for the massacre, repeatedly asserting that the security establishment — not political leaders — failed to prevent the deadliest attack in Israel’s history.
Mossad chief David Barnea is one of the only top security officials who was serving in his role on the day of the massacre and remains in his position.