MK Gadi Eisenkot, Opposition leaders: PM must be summoned for meeting

Opposition MKs demand Netanyahu appear before the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, citing his failure to achieve war objectives and decisions risking Israel's security.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the 2021 elections box (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the 2021 elections box
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

Opposition members of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee addressed a letter to committee chairman MK Yuli Edelstein on Saturday evening, demanding an urgent discussion on the status of achieving the war objectives.

The letter, signed by MKs Gadi Eisenkot, Merav Michaeli, Elazar Stern, Sharon Nir, Ram Ben Barak, and Meir Cohen, cited Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu's "failures to achieve the set war objectives, the refusal to set new objectives, and the acceptance of a series of decisions that endanger Israel's strategic position" as reasons for summoning him before the committee.

The MKs intend to provide the PM with an opportunity to present his plan and the status of achieving his war objectives.

As stated by this committee, Netanyahu's primary failures include, among others, "the supreme moral obligation to return the 107 hostages, both living and deceased, from Hamas captivity, and the lack of advancement in a solution for hundreds of thousands of citizens living in uncertainty and insecurity."

This is far from the first time Eisenkot has clashed publicly with Netanyahu. In March of 2023, when Netanyahu briefly fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for speaking out against the Judicial Reform, Eisenkot referred to the dismissal as "a disgrace to Netanyahu's legacy and a dangerous bet on all of our lives."

Since October 7, Eisenkot has publicly criticized Netanyahu's leadership on multiple occasions.

Merav Michaeli

Along with Eisenkot, MK Merav Michaeli has previously filed a police complaint against Netanyahu after comments he made in February of 2023, which she interpreted to be "inciting violence against protesters."