Israeli Defense Minister And IDF Involved In Tensions About The October 7 Attack Investigation

Defense Minister Katz with IDF Chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi. (Source: Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

JAKARTA - Israel's Defense Minister, Israel Katz is in tension with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) surrounding an investigation into the 2023 Palestinian militant attack.

Defense Minister Katz said he had ordered IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi to "work fully together" with the investigation of state financial watchdogs for the October 7, 2023 attacks on southern Israeli territory led by Hamas.

The order comes amid tensions between Defense Minister Katz and Lt. Gen. Halevi, and after State Finance Regulatory Englman accused the military of "intimidating" senior officers who testified in the context of its investigation.

"There is unlikely to be a situation where the IDF appears afraid of the necessary public surveillance and transparency, given the serious nature of the events that occurred on October 7, when chief of staff led the IDF," Defense Minister Katz said in a statement. January 9th.

Defense Minister Katz said he ordered Lt. Gen. Halevi to allow state financial watchdogs to "access any material that may be needed and fully cooperate" with the investigation.

The statement issued by Katz's office also said the defense minister "warned the chief of staff of its directives to complete an internal investigation conducted by the IDF at the end of this month and to submit an investigation that had been prepared as soon as possible, so he could examine it and assess its impact on promotion and mutation of officials planned at the IDF."

Defense Minister Katz has told Lieutenant General Halevi he will not approve the appointment of a general until the investigation is complete and submitted to him.

In a recent statement, Katz's office said, "due to the delay in submitting substantial investigations and facts, including the events (the night between) 6 and 7 October, it has not been submitted to him, there is great difficulty in approving even lower rank appointments."

"Therefore, he decided to agree at this stage only to the appointment of a colonel," said Katz's office.

Katz also intends to call Halevi for a meeting on the matter, the statement added.

Responding to Defense Minister Katz, IDF said the matter should not be resolved through news media.

The military said it was conducting an internal investigation "to increase national defense and its citizens."

The investigation took place in line with military activities, the IDF said, noting that "the commanders who (currently) manage the fighting are also the ones conducting the investigation."

The military warned that if the commanders were disturbed by investigations during the current fighting, it could take lives.

"The IDF is working fully with the state financial watchdog, although such an audit has never been carried out during the war," the military said, adding that currently 18 investigations are being carried out by the Mataluhu State Finance Supervisor Englman at the IDF.

The IDF argues that its "quality investigation" is "a very important basis" for the investigation of the state's financial watchdog, and the investigation will be given to Englman once completed.

The military said it prioritized "the quality of the investigation" rather than resolving it more quickly, but would still "do everything possible to resolve it professionally as quickly as possible."

"The resolution of the problem must be carried out in a dialogue between the defense minister and the chief of staff and not through the media," the IDF added.

Earlier, in a letter that was very critical and in a strong tone to Lt. Gen. Halevi earlier this week, state financial watchdogs said military officials had secretly recorded interviews conducted by their offices and briefed officers on how to answer questions, among other actions he claimed were designed to obscure "the truth so as not to be revealed."

In response, the IDF said it "always acts in accordance with the law and cooperates fully and transparently with the state's financial watchdog."

Englman's investigation is not a state investigation commission, whose formation has so far been rejected by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and most of his government members.