The Israeli military took the unusual step Monday of publicly addressing reports of a confrontation between its chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one day before Israelis go to the polls.
In a statement, the IDF spokesperson referred to “various reports in Israeli and international media in the past 24 hours, attributing various statements to the Chief of Staff or senior IDF officials.” The military, the statement said, “is focused on its missions and maintains high alert across all fronts, in light of various threats and the sensitivity of the period.”
The spokesperson added that the IDF’s “operational activity and considerations” are “security-related, professional, practical and statesmanlike only,” and called “any other discourse” misleading and irrelevant.
The statement did not directly confirm or deny the reports.
It followed a Channel 12 report on Sunday that the dispute began over a political directive to carry out an operation that could lead to escalation with Iran. According to the report, Zamir asked for an in-depth discussion before carrying out the directive, as well as legal documentation and signatures from the political leadership.
The strain between the two men was also on display Sunday at a meeting at the Palmachim base, where, according to people who were present, the atmosphere was particularly tense.
