Behind the resignation of Israel’s military intelligence chief
Last Updated on April 23, 2024 7:48 am
Israel’s military intelligence chief Major General Aharon Haliva has resigned. On October 7, he stepped down from his post due to the failure to prevent the attacks of the Palestinian independence organization Hamas in Israel.
The French news agency AFP reported this information in a report on Monday, citing a statement from the Israeli army.
It is said that as the head of military intelligence, Haliva talked to the Israeli army chief about the responsibility for the failure of the October 7 incident and requested to be relieved of his duties. In view of this, it has been decided that Haliva will relinquish his duties and retire after appointing a successor in accordance with the rules and following the professional process.
According to the statement of the Israeli army, Haliver has 38 years of professional life in the Israeli military.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, a Qatar-based media outlet, Haliva mentioned in his resignation letter that he could not prevent the October 7 attack. He was under pressure to step down soon after the attack. However, considering the military operation in Gaza, he has fulfilled his duty. Analysts believe there are other reasons behind Haliva’s withdrawal, six months into the ongoing war in Gaza.
Israel’s Haaretz newspaper columnist Akiva Eldar said that the military intelligence chief may have resigned because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not want to end the war in Gaza soon. Another reason could be that the Prime Minister is not interested in bringing back the hostages.
Akiva also said that Netanyahu is the supreme authority. He never accepted responsibility for the failure to stop the attacks by Hamas. So Haliva wanted to give Netanyahu a personal message.
Anti-government protests will intensify over the resignation of the military intelligence chief. It will also increase pressure on wartime cabinet members Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot.
Akiva said the resignation would make it difficult for him to convince voters in his constituency that he had a good reason to stay in the cabinet.
The political analyst added that if Haliva feels it is time to say goodbye, many will call for them (Beni and Gadi) to step down as well. Because they are also involved in the strategic deficit of ending this conflict with the Palestinians.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a sudden deadly attack on Israel. According to Israeli official data, 1,170 people were killed in Hamas attacks.
In response, Israel launched a counter-attack on the Palestinian Gaza Strip from that day. Yesterday, the Ministry of Health of Gaza said that since October 7, 34 thousand 151 people have been killed in the Israeli attack on Gaza. Most of them are women and children.