A fierce dispute in the middle of war: Defense Minister Israel Katz lashed out overnight Monday-Tuesday at Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir over a staffing discussion held at IDF General Staff headquarters. Following this, The IDF said Tuesday morning that Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir arrived Monday at the office of Defense Minister Israel Katz to discuss the names of officers he sought to promote, but the minister did not receive him, citing a "busy schedule."
Elements close to Katz responded: "The chief of staff came unannounced. Presenting it this way distorts the reality on many levels", adding that Zamir had requested only a 15-minute meeting to discuss the appointments, which they said was not legitimate, insisting the minister is not a rubber stamp.
They added that the first time Zamir requested to meet on the matter was last Friday, and that when he arrived at Katz's office without prior coordination, the minister was occupied.
Overnight statement battle
Shortly after midnight, Katz issued a statement saying: "The appointments discussion held today by the chief of staff was conducted in defiance of the defense minister's instructions and without prior coordination or agreement, contrary to accepted procedure. Therefore, the defense minister has no intention of discussing or approving the names, whether published or not. The chief of staff will be required to coordinate in advance with the defense minister before discussing these or any other appointments."
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit responded: "This was a staffing discussion focused on field positions sought by brigade commanders who have led operations in multiple fronts since the war began."
On Tuesday morning, Katz issued another statement: "Because these are joint appointments for the defense minister and the chief of staff, there is an accepted procedure for promotions from the rank of colonel and above in the IDF, whereby the chief of staff meets with the defense minister and presents several candidates for each position, explaining the rationale for each choice. The minister, after consulting and examining the matter, formulates policy and a position on the appointments and then allows the process to proceed for final approval. This was the case with the previous chief of staff and the current one.
"No staffing discussions take place in the IDF before this process is completed. In this case as well, the minister made clear to the chief of staff that he needed more time and that the process should not move forward at this stage. There have been past instances in which the minister did not approve certain candidates due to their involvement in the events of October 7, or in which approval was linked to the completion of war-related inquiries.
"As for the current round of appointments, Defense Minister Israel Katz will consider whether to promote senior commanders in the Gaza sector who have not yet completed the customary term in their positions before the mission of defeating Hamas in Gaza is completed.
"The defeat of Hamas in Gaza and the release of the hostages is the most important and urgent task facing the IDF, and all existing command resources must be concentrated to complete it quickly. One of the criteria for promotion in future staffing discussions will be success in this mission.
"In addition, as in the past, the promotion of officers who held command positions in Gaza on October 7, as well as officers linked to past exceptional incidents, will also be reviewed. The military echelon is subordinate to the defense minister and will act according to his directives and the policy he determines."
