Israeli defense minister says no need for opposition approval to launch strikes
Israeli caretaker Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that the outgoing coalition does not need permission from the opposition to decide on fresh military operations, following calls to show restraint.
"We do not need approval from the opposition or any legal authority" for the army to carry out strikes in any of the arenas where it operates, Katz wrote on X.
The leader of the opposition bloc, Gadi Eisenkot, has called on caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show restraint, warning that the use of force without a "direct and immediate threat" could have "disastrous consequences for Israeli democracy and for citizens' trust".
Netanyahu repeatedly threatened to resume the Iran war on the campaign trail for elections last month, warning of threats and even posting an image of a nuclear bomb destroying Tel Aviv.
Katz said Thursday that the outgoing coalition had "demonstrated resolve and sound judgment in dealing with Iran, in full coordination with the IDF -- and that will remain the case now, as circumstances require".
Netanyahu agreed to meet Thursday with Eisenkot to discuss national security following the row over whether the outgoing government can resume the conflict.
In a short joint statement, Eisenkot and Netanyahu said they would meet at the prime minister's office for a briefing attended by Netanyahu's military aide.
The announcement came a day after Eisenkot, who has a mandate to try to form a new government, accused Netanyahu of refusing to brief him, in what he called a deviation from protocol.
Avigdor Liberman, a key member of Eisenkot's political bloc who has been named head of a parliamentary committee on foreign and defense affairs, also criticized Netanyahu on Thursday.
"I warn you: a caretaker government is not allowed to make decisions that could drag Israel into war without parliamentary oversight and without the full consent of all security agencies," said Liberman, a hawkish former aide to Netanyahu who has become a strident critic.
Neither Liberman nor Eisenkot mentioned Iran directly.
Netanyahu's office has hit back, saying Wednesday that Eisenkot, a former military chief, was politicizing national security.
Since last year Netanyahu has twice ordered major bombing campaigns against Iran in partnership with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Both leaders said afterwards that they had severely set back Iran's efforts to build nuclear weapons, which the clerical state denies pursuing.
Trump has allied himself with Netanyahu but in recent days has said the focus is on diplomacy, after he also suffered a setback in elections, partly due to the war.
Eisenkot has until December 6 to form a government, although President Isaac Herzog can give him an extension until December 20.
Both Eisenkot's broad left-to-right coalition and Netanyahu's bloc of hard-right and religious parties fell short of a majority in Israel's October polls.
Eisenkot is exploring options to form a government, with Liberman demanding he not work with Israeli-Arab lawmakers, whose numbers soared in the elections on the back of anger over Netanyahu.
Source: Agence France Presse
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