The sharp confrontation between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Sunday centered on whether to continue the military operation in Hebron, Kan News reported Monday.
The operation was launched after Friday’s terror attack near Yehuda Junction that killed two soldiers from the Home Front Command’s Ari Battalion, Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, and wounded three others.
According to Kan, the IDF wanted to announce on Saturday night that the operation would end the next day, once troops finished searching buildings in the area. Netanyahu instead demanded that it continue, even though the army believed its objectives had been met.
The disagreement came to a head at a situation assessment at the Tel Nof air base attended by Netanyahu, Zamir, the head of the Operations Directorate, the head of Military Intelligence and the commander of the Air Force. Zamir told the prime minister that the operation’s goals had been achieved and there was no longer an operational reason to continue. He also raised a legal concern: that there was no longer justification to keep the Palestinian families evacuated during the operation from returning home.
Zamir recommended ending the operation, Kan reported, but Netanyahu rejected his recommendation, and the operation continued.
A military source said Monday that the operation had three goals, deterrence, locating terror infrastructure and gathering intelligence, and that all three had been achieved. Security forces have searched about 500 buildings in Hebron, finding a rifle and a handgun.
Some soldiers taking part in the operation also voiced frustration. “We’re sitting in positions and doing nothing,” soldiers from one unit said. “We did searches, looked for weapons, found what we found, and it’s over. Now we’re just wasting time. You can always find another gun and another Hamas flag, but that’s not the objective. There are soldiers here who haven’t gone home for 28 days because someone doesn’t want to say the operation is over.”
The forces involved include Duvdevan, Maglan, paratroopers, Givati Brigade reservists and Border Police from Judea and Samaria, with intelligence guidance from the Shin Bet and the Judea Brigade command. The operation is focused on the area home to about 2,000 members of the Ja’abah clan, which the IDF identifies with Hamas and from which the two terrorists came.
Meanwhile, the military’s investigation of the attack is ongoing. Investigators are examining the sequence of events, the deployment of forces, how the soldiers were hit, and whether the terrorists had help from others.
