Former Israeli defense officials warned US senators in the Senate’s Committee on Foreign Relations that the judicial reform plan being promoted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “harms Israel’s national strength through the dismantling the IDF,” in a letter on Monday, according to N12.
The letter, which was also sent to Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman MK Yuli Edelstein, accused Netanyahu of “leading acts aimed at harming the Israeli judicial system and the Supreme Court in a way that will nullify the independence of the Israeli judiciary and subordinate it to Netanyahu and his fellow politicians.”
“These actions—led and promoted by Netanyahu—are transforming the State of Israel from a democracy based on the principles of our Declaration of Independence to an autocracy that harms Israel’s national strength through the dismantling the IDF, its defense establishment, economy, financial stability, and risks the social fabric of the people and the State of Israel,” wrote the defense officials.
The 51 signatories of the letter, which was sent as Netanyahu headed to the US for the UN General Assembly, include former defense minister and IDF chief of staff Moshe Ya’alon, former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo, former prime minister, defense minister, and IDF chief of staff Ehud Barak, and dozens of other former leading officials in the IDF, Mossad, Shin Bet, police, Defense Ministry, and National Security Council.
The signatories accused the prime minister of conducting the judicial reform in an attempt to stop the legal proceedings and the State Commission of Inquiry being carried out against him.
The former defense officials also referenced the submarine affair, in which advanced submarines were sold to Egypt by Germany after Netanyahu personally granted approval for the sale behind the backs of the defense establishment. Netanyahu later stated that he had given the approval while bypassing the entire defense establishment for “security reasons.”
“We—as former senior defense officials and signors of this letter—know with complete certainty that there is no, and has never been a legitimate defense secret that any Israeli prime minister was prevented from sharing with the defense minister, the chief of staff and the head of the Mossad,” wrote the former defense officials in their letter on Monday. “We therefore believe that Netanyahu likely had other personal reasons in granting this approval to the German Government and concealing this decision of his from the defense establishment.”
‘Netanyahu’s conduct could cause significant damage to the national security of the US’
“We conclude that Netanyahu’s destructive conduct against the State of Israel and the defense establishment stems from his own personal considerations, from concern over the very significant charges and accusations against him, and from his acknowledged deception of the entire security and defense establishment,” continued the letter.
The former defense officials additionally warned that Netanyahu could make decisions concerning a potential normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia based on personal interests.
“Netanyahu’s conduct and the manner in which he makes decisions, could cause significant damage to the national security of Israel and also to the national security of Israel’s close ally – the US,” added the former defense officials.
The signatories additionally called on Edelstein to “oversee the conduct of the government and its prime minister on such critical issues related to the national security of Israel and its future.”
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