Defense minister advancing his plan to implement national service alongside military duty to address situation in which only half of Israelis currently serve
Government said to form team to deal with fallout of NSO spyware revelations timesofisrael.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesofisrael.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Palestinians terrorists fire rockets from Gaza City toward Israel on May 10, 2021. (Mahmud Hams/AFP)
He did not comment directly on the violence at the Temple Mount or his reported decisions to curb activities on Jerusalem Day, which is mostly celebrated by religious nationalist Israeli Jews, over fears that they could lead to direct confrontations with Palestinians in the Old City.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned Hamas, after holding a security assessment with senior officials.
“The Hamas organization in recent weeks has violated Israeli sovereignty, crossed red lines. It will bear the consequences,” Gantz threatened in a video statement.
He said several “offensive operations” of varying scope had been approved “that will severely damage Hamas and the other terror groups. Operations that will ensure the security of the State of Israel and restore total calm for the long-term.”
Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel s military correspondent.
Israeli soldiers wearing protective face masks walk on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem on June 23, 2020. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
The military ombudsman released his annual report of soldiers’ complaints on Wednesday, detailing the troops’ claims of abuse, negligence and incompetence by commanders toward their subordinates in 2020, including many cases related to the Israel Defense Forces’ response to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to his office, acting ombudsman Brig. Gen. (res.) Eitan Dahan, known formally as the chief complaints officers in the Defense Ministry, received 5,706 complaints from troops or their parents over the course of 2020, a slight decrease from the previous year, when over 6,000 were submitted. Dahan’s office reviewed each of the cases, finding that the majority of the complaints 61 percent were legitimate, while the rest were found to be false or trivial.