World Jewish News

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (L) and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon. Photo: REUTERS

Ya'alon takes aim at Bennett, Liberman for 'playing politics' during Gaza operation

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon appeared on all three major Israeli television networks on Friday evening to counter criticism from hawkish members of the cabinet who repeatedly second-guessed him and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for declining to topple Hamas in the Gaza Strip during Operation Protective Edge.
Though he never mentioned them explicitly by name, the defense minister criticized Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett for their vocal opposition to what they perceived as a weak military response to Hamas’ rocket fire.
“We had ministers supporting things in the room, and then they went to the media and expressed opposition to it,” Ya’alon told Israeli television on Friday. “This is irresponsible.”
“During war, there is no room for politics,” the defense minister said. "That needs to be put to the side. You can’t say one thing in the cabinet meeting and then go out to the media and say something completely different.”
"We had a situation where these ministers were leading the public by its nose, riling them up, and creating the sense that it there is weak leadership at the helm," Ya'alon said. "It’s irresponsible."
“Even if you voted against a decision, you can’t go to the press and attack us, because there’s a collective responsibility,” Ya’alon said. “I hope that with experience and age, the ministers will wise up.”
Ya’alon said that the dissension expressed publicly by senior ministers was used for propaganda purposes by Hamas.
“We have Hamas quoting cabinet ministers and other ministers who say we didn’t achieve what we wanted,” the defense minister said. “The government, the military, and the prime minister – all of us were coordinated among us, so it’s unfortunate that some people chose to play politics.”
Ya’alon said that Israel “achieved what it wanted to achieve” after the 50-day military campaign.
Liberman, who appeared on Channel 1, rejected Ya’alon’s criticism.
“I was consistent from the beginning of the operation to the end,” the foreign minister said. “The position I presented in cabinet was the same in public.”
Liberman, who repeated his stance that “it was possible to finish the job” and “expel the Hamas leadership from Gaza,” told Channel 1 that he consulted with former defense experts who backed his position.
“It was possible to expel Hamas,” the foreign minister said. “I trust the IDF. But we were closer than ever to toppling Hamas in Gaza.
“I consulted with the best experts because I’m not a military expert," Liberman said. "I expected to see alternatives to the plans that were adopted, but I just saw one alternative.”
The foreign minister said that while he agrees with Ya’alon and Netanyahu that “Hamas was hit hard,” Israel “needed to complete the job.”

JPost.com