Ron Dermer Archives - CrossFireArarbia

Netanyahu Lands in New Scandal

CrossFireArabia
November 10, 2024

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office is at the center of a new scandal involving alleged orders to halt the recording of war cabinet meetings, which is a deviation from standard security protocols, local media reported on Saturday.

The controversy reportedly began on Oct. 7, the day Israel’s offensive on Gaza commenced, when war cabinet meetings took place at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, according to the daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

While security officials initially recorded these meetings as required, Netanyahu’s office allegedly instructed the military to stop documenting the discussions, arguing that recording was unnecessary.

The war cabinet, formed by Netanyahu after Oct. 7, 2023, included Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, ex-Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer. Netanyahu later dissolved the council in June this year following the resignations of Gantz and Eisenkot according to the Anadolu news agency.

Further escalating the controversy, Israel’s Channel 12 revealed Friday that Netanyahu’s office is under investigation for allegedly blackmailing a military officer with a sensitive video to access and alter records from the Oct. 7 meetings.

According to Channel 12, Avi Gil, Netanyahu’s former military secretary, notified Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of suspected protocol violations.

This investigation coincides with a separate probe by the Israeli Lahav 433 police unit into alleged document forgery within Netanyahu’s office, alongside an ongoing Shin Bet investigation into the leak of sensitive intelligence. Five individuals, including Netanyahu’s spokesperson Eli Feldstein and other senior officials, have been detained.

These cases have intensified public concern over the security practices and accountability of Netanyahu’s office amid accusations that officials sought to deflect responsibility for perceived failures leading up to the Oct. 7 Gaza war.

Israel has continued a devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 43,500 Palestinians and rendering the enclave almost uninhabitable.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the blockaded enclave.

News

US Loses Trust in Israel Over Iran

CrossFireArabia
October 9, 2024

The White House’s distrust of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has grown increasingly in recent weeks as Tel Aviv carries out multiple wars across the region, according to a report published Tuesday.

Washington’s wear in trust comes as Israel prepares its response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack last week. Tehran said it carried out the strikes in retaliation for the July assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the killing of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last month.

Four US officials told the Axios news website that Washington is not opposed to Israel carrying out its reprisal but wants it to measure its attack according to Anadolu.

“Our trust of the Israelis is very low right now, and for a good reason,” one of the officials said.

Jake Sullivan, US President Joe Biden’s national security advisor, told his Israeli counterpart Ron Dermer last week that the US expects “clarity and transparency” from Israel as it plans its response, in part because any Israeli attack has implications for the security of US forces and interests in the region.

Skeptical

Sullivan signaled during the call that if the Biden administration is not informed beforehand, it would not automatically step in to thwart another ballistic missile attack from Iran, Axios said. Dermer reportedly said Israel wants to keep the US in the loop, but the officials are skeptical that is the case.

The US had been left in the dark about Israel’s assassination of Haniyeh, which took place just days after Netanyahu assured Biden that he would work to advance a Gaza cease-fire and hostage deal, as well as the strike that killed the Hezbollah leader and a series of explosions that targeted the militia’s communication devices.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was reportedly livid when he was informed of the strike that killed Nasrallah within minutes of the time when the jets dropped dozens of bombs on Beirut’s southern suburbs. He was irked by the fact that the notification time was not sufficient to adequately increase the security of US forces in the region.

Officials said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Austin that he was instructed by Netanyahu not to give Washington an advance warning.

Gallant’s visit to the Pentagon, which was to take place Wednesday, was called off at the last minute, according to the Pentagon. It did not give a reason, but Israeli media reported that Netanyahu is barring his defense minister from flying to Washington until Biden calls him directly.

Netanyahu’s further decision to walk away from a US-backed 21-day cease-fire proposal in Lebanon further eroded US trust, as has Israel’s decision to order all civilians in northern Gaza to flee south as it prepares a new offensive on the region.

US officials have said they are concerned that the directive is setting the stage for a potential siege and that Palestinian civilians would not be allowed to return.

“They tell us what we want to hear — the problem is lack of trust,” a US official told Axios as reported by the Turkish news agency.