Israel – Bennett Denies Accusations Of Illegally Receiving Information During Gaza War

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    File: Israeli Economy Minister Naftali Bennett (L) in Jerusalem, 06 April 2014.  EPA/GALI TIBBON / POOLIsrael – Economy Minister Naftali Bennett denied all accusations of him illegally receiving information during Operation Protective Edge Tuesday, taking credit for the strategy of destroying Hamas terror tunnels.

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    According to Bennett, his close associate former IDF chief Rabbi Avichai Rontzki who was accused of giving the Bayit Yehudi leader classified information, is being used by Ya’alon to hurt Bennett politically.

    “He is a good commander and this is inappropriate treatment,” Bennett stated. “If [Ya’alon] wants to bash me, he should bash me and leave the IDF alone.” Rontzki told Channel 2 News he did not speak to Bennett at all during the operation, and the minister said in a subsequent interview that all Rontzki reported to him was high morale among the soldiers.

    Ronski, has denied the claims that he was the reserves officer in question.

    It emerged on Tuesday that the IDF took disciplinary action against a senior reserves officer who passed on unauthorized and classified information to Economy Minister and cabinet member Naftali Bennett during the war with Hamas this summer,

    “I had no link to Bennet of any kind,” he told Channel 2 news, adding, “I was with soldiers in the field.”

    Ronski also rejected claims that he was dismissed by chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz following a decision to take disciplinary action. “It’s not true. No one spoke to me. I was in reserves even after Operation Protective Edge. I have more reserve duty scheduled in Succot. I don’t know what this is about, he added.

    Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said on Tuesday that he hoped cabinet ministers who behaved improperly during the war “learned” from the episode, though he did not name specific ministers.

    Bennett recounted visiting soldiers “dozens” of times during Operation Protective Edge and meeting with many commanders.

    “Where do you think I initiated the plan to destroy [Hamas] tunnels? From an astrologist? It’s from being out in the field,” he said.

    Then, Bennett said that there was a “conception” that Hamas would not use the tunnels, and when he first brought up the idea to attack the tunnels, people, implying Ya’alon, shrugged it off.

    Bennett also said that after fighting in the Second Lebanon War, he got the sense that the politicians making decisions did not get the full picture of what was happening, and vowed that he would not allow that to happen to him.

    “If someone looks into it, he will see who initiated and who blocked, who was for destroying the tunnels and who was against it, who voted for ending the operation without destroying the tunnels and who voted against it,” he added.

    On Facebook, Bennett wrote: “I did not back down from my opinions, even when there were others that were dismissing my positions, insisting there was no threat of Hamas terror tunnels by determining they do not intend on using the tunnels.

    “I am willing to accept the headlines against me as long as not one hair on any southern resident’s head is harmed due to terror tunnels,” he added. “I will not be silenced.” Meanwhile, Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On wrote on Facebook that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu should fire Bennett.

    “Our Economy Minister used a former IDF chief rabbi as a spy for political gain during a war. The army admits the leak and suspended Rontzki. What about dismissing Bennett, who undermined the army? Where is the prime minister?” she asked.

    MK Nachman Shai (Labor) said that “Bennett and Ya’alon’s squabbling shows us the government’s dysfunctionality and hesitancy during the operation. If this is how important decisions were made during Operation Protective Edge, the government doesn’t deserve the nation that went to war, showed solidarity and paid a heavy price.”

    Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) called for IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz to “dismiss the conscientious objectors from [intelligence unit] 8200, who are causing great damage to Israel and the IDF, rather than look for a scapegoat to silence dissenting voices in the army who [Gantz] may not have liked during the operation.”

    “Even if it is true that Rabbi Rontzki leaked information to a cabinet member – which was not yet proven – out of concern for the security of citizens of Israel, it is much less serious than briefings to the media that took place during the operation and after it by senior IDF officers in an attempt to deal with public and media criticism,” Elkin added.

    Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post


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    2 Comments
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    PaulinSaudi
    PaulinSaudi
    9 years ago

    Someone (might be) dealing in state secrets in wartime for political gain? This seems very serious to me.