Haaretz: The size of the internal division in Israel

The Israeli Haaretz newspaper considered that changing the powers in the West Bank, granting immunity to soldiers and the conscription law will undermine the chain of command in the Israeli army, noting that the concessions of Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu to extremist Knesset members Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir will harm the army’s performance.

The Israeli Army describing what is happening as dangerous and sweeping.

Haaretz added that the concessions that Netanyahu made to his future partners in the field of religion and the state are wide and varied, and stressed that these are comprehensive concessions that reduce the powers of the army and the Ministry of Security, and undermine the chain of command in the Israeli army.

Haaretz believed that the far-reaching change is evident in the West Bank.

According to the ongoing agreements, Netanyahu granted his two far-right partners, Knesset members Smotrich and Ben Gvir, unprecedented powers.

Haaretz added, a minister from Smotrich’s party will be given authority over the mechanism for coordinating government activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, over the civil administration in the West Bank, and over the appointment of judicial advisors who will work there.

Haaretz added, Ben Gvir, as Minister of National Security, will be granted not only expanded powers over the inspector general and the police, but also direct authority over the border guards, in a way that he can influence orders for the forces on the ground, and even transfer border guard companies from the West Bank to the Negev and the Galilee according to his desire.

Haaretz stressed that what is taking place are two complementary operations that will weaken the performance of the Israeli army in the West Bank, based on the fact that external parties will be added to the military-security hierarchy (Smotrich and Ben Gvir).

Haaretz newspaper says that Ben Gvir will pass legislation that reduces the possibility of prosecuting soldiers for executive activity, noting that this matter may produce adverse results, as Haaretz believes that Israel has been responding to today, for 55 years, claims to an international court.

Accordingly, Haaretz states that the moment the possibility of investigation and trial is cut off, the likely result is more claims aimed at leading Israeli soldiers and officers to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

According to the Israeli newspaper, it is expected that the future coalition will return to pushing an old law proposal to appoint the chief military rabbi based on the recommendations of a committee in which the eastern Sephardi rabbi is also a member.

And Haaretz indicated that it was agreed that the chief military rabbi shouldn’t be subordinate to the chief of staff on legal-professional issues.

In addition, the religious Zionist bloc is calling for the restoration of the rank of major general to the chief military rabbi, which was reduced two decades ago.

Haaretz believes that this step has two possible effects: The first is that the chief military rabbi’s subordination to the chief of staff will weaken and pave the way for an already existing process – subjecting the chief military rabbi to a civilian rabbinic authority.

According to Haaretz newspaper, this matter is problematic because in this way foreign agendas – civil and even political – will enter the Israeli army through the front door.

As for the second effect: There could be a risk of introducing extremist fatwas, noting that to date, they have been suppressed by the direct subordination of the chief military rabbi to the chief of staff.

According to Haaretz newspaper, the biggest challenge to the relations of the Israeli army and Israeli society, in the long run, lies in Netanyahu’s apparent acquiescence to the demand of the two ultra-Orthodox parties to enact a new conscription law.

Haaretz believed that such a law is expected to exempt once and for all the decisive majority of ultra-Orthodox youth from the duty of military service, noting that such an arrangement could destabilize the service model in the Israeli army, and could harm motivation for conscription.

Haaretz believes that while Netanyahu responds to the far-reaching demands of his partners, it seems that he is forever canceling a demand that he presented noisily, even dramatically, in the final stage of the Likud campaign in the last elections.

Netanyahu strongly attacked the maritime border demarcation agreement with the Lebanese side, noting that his attempt and the members of the Knesset to obstruct the process were rebuffed by the Supreme Court judges, who accepted the position of the Lapid-Bennett government and the security and military establishment.

They claimed that the agreement was required, while an Israeli withdrawal from it at the last minute could lead to a military deterioration in the northern arena.

Prior to the elections, Netanyahu declared his crude rejection of the agreement, and promised that if he wins, he will cancel this shameful agreement.

Haaretz concluded by saying that Netanyahu and the Likud’s impassioned criticism of the agreement was nothing but an election trap, adding that the moment he won it, he left it.

Netanyahu clearly has more pressing issues on the agenda now!