Security cabinet hasn’t met amid tension in north

Following the criticism these revelations brought, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a Security Cabinet meeting for next Tuesday.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Prime Minster and Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the security cabinet after convening it to discuss Gaza rockets fired at Tel Aviv (photo credit: ARIEL HERMONI / DEFENSE MINISTRY)
Prime Minster and Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the security cabinet after convening it to discuss Gaza rockets fired at Tel Aviv
(photo credit: ARIEL HERMONI / DEFENSE MINISTRY)
The Diplomatic-Security Cabinet has not met for more than a briefing since the government was formed in May, despite the ongoing tension on Israel’s northern borders.
The Security Cabinet was last briefed on defense matters a month ago, Army Radio reported on Wednesday, though ministers were given information individually since then. It has not had one meeting in which there was a discussion or a vote.
Following the criticism these revelations brought, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a Security Cabinet meeting for next Tuesday.
The IDF has been bracing itself for increased clashes with Hezbollah on the Israel-Lebanon border, and thwarted a Hezbollah attack on northern Israel earlier this week.
A source in the Security Cabinet pointed out that Netanyahu supporters are not the majority in the 16-seat forum, where the Likud and Blue and White sides of the unity coalition are tied.
Rather than call the whole cabinet together, Netanyahu tends to make decisions on security matters only with Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
Agriculture Minister Alon Schuster, a member of the Security Cabinet, told Army Radio that “the cabinet functions in a very low intensity, and it should meet more often.”
At the same time, Schuster pointed to other problems, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic downturn, as more important to how often the Security Cabinet meets.
“In relation to all the great challenges, the security sphere is managed well,” Schuster said. “Our real mission is to stabilize the government.”
The Security Cabinet, officially titled “Ministerial Committee for Security Matters,” is codified in Israeli law since 2001. The law says the Security Cabinet is meant to discuss “matters of diplomacy, security and settlements.” It has the authority to declare war or other significant military action.