The decision to hand over Civil Administration powers to Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich is nothing short of disastrous and poses an immediate threat to the IDF and the state.
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The Civil Administration is a military agency that directs civilian life in Area C of the West Bank, which is under full Israeli civil and security control. As such, it is responsible for both Jews and Palestinians and operates under the authority of the Defense Ministry's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories unit. The head of the administration is a brigadier general and the coordinator is a major general and a member of the IDF General Staff Forum.
The one responsible for appointing the head of the Civil Administration – and other senior positions in the IDF as well – is the chief of staff. And although the appointments require the approval of the defense minister, he is not formally allowed to interfere with the process, and certainly not impose his personal opinion.
The new agreement between Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu and Smotrich changes things. While the defense minister will continue to act according to the existing orders that ensure statehood and professionalism, Smotrich will appoint his own people at the heart of the system.
Worse yet, it will undermine the chain of command in the military. There is only one authority in the IDF: the commander. The fact that Smotrich will get to appoint the head of the Civil Administration raises an obvious question: who will overlook him – the minister or the chief of staff? And who will command his soldiers, who will now serve under a political party rather than a military institution?
The move would also require changes to the legislature. This unprecedented move, in which a minister who is not in charge of the defense portfolio will be given control over military units, is insane and irresponsible.
Every decision – construction or demolition, work permits, water, road construction – has immediate security implications. This is why the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories attends every security situation assessment because decisions that pertain to civilian life in Judea and Samaria have direct consequences on security.
Smotrich, and his short-lived electoral partner Itamar Ben-Gvir, claim they are acting in the name of Israeli security and the need to protect IDF soldiers. But the reality is different: their irresponsible actions will destroy the military and public trust in its institutions, damage Israel's ability to maintain security, and endanger commanders and soldiers in unnecessary battles on the battlefield and in the legal field.
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