Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu publicly accused National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of passing on confidential information about potential cabinet decisions to the press, according to a report from KAN on Friday.
“Before and during the cabinet meeting, I saw briefings on Arutz Sheva, Israel Hayom, and other places about who supports and opposes the decision on Red Cross visits to prisons,” Netanyahu remarked during the session, standing up to directly charge Ben-Gvir. Following his accusation, he pulled the item concerning Red Cross visits from the agenda, saying it would be brought up later in a different setting.
Reports suggest that the matter will now be taken up in the so-called “humanitarian cabinet,” a smaller body that includes Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, and MK Arye Deri, which occasionally convenes to deal with aid issues related to Gaza.
The initiative at the center of the dispute originated with the National Security Council and would have authorized Red Cross access to terrorists held in Israeli prisons. Yet the plan was ultimately withdrawn after the council determined it was unlikely to receive sufficient backing from ministers.
The framework of the proposal contained two main provisions.
The first, in line with the advice of the Shin Bet, would have banned Red Cross representatives from meeting with or gathering information about prisoners hailing from Gaza, as well as those connected to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The second would have allowed the Red Cross to visit other terrorist detainees, though only under certain limits established by security officials.
The plan was designed to strike a middle ground between rulings of the High Court of Justice and international requirements, while still imposing tighter restrictions on members of the militant factions in Gaza.
Nevertheless, Ben-Gvir made clear his resistance to the measure.
“While Hamas continues to hold hostages in Gaza, it is impossible for terrorists to benefit from visits and preferential conditions,” he said. “The National Security Council’s proposal is a serious mistake that signals weakness to the enemy.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
