Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Aviv Kohavi vowed to stop far-right Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich from being able to nominate military generals for two key positions, according to Monday reports.
Smotrich has been seeking more influence over West Bank policy in coalition negotiations with Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, and has reportedly secured the right to nominate candidates for positions overseeing much of the territory.
“I won’t allow any interference in the appointment of IDF generals. There is no possibility of this happening,” Kohavi was quoted as saying by Channel 13 news during closed conversations.
On Sunday, Haaretz reported that the incoming coalition parties have agreed to change the process for choosing the heads of the Civil Administration and Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, also known as COGAT, likely bolstering a bid by pro-settlement hardliners to expand Israel’s presence in the territories while clamping down on Palestinians.
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Religious Zionism and Smotrich have pushed for a heavier hand in controlling Israeli policies in the West Bank, raising fears that they will use the newfound authority to rapidly expand Israeli construction and the establishment of new settlements while upping enforcement against illegal Palestinian construction in parts of the West Bank under Israeli civil control.
Under the already-announced terms of a coalition deal between Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Smotrich, a junior minister embedded in the Defense Ministry by Religious Zionism will exercise control over COGAT and the Civil Administration, agencies under the ministry and the IDF which serve as the military liaison to the Palestinians and direct civilian life in the roughly 60 percent of the West Bank where Israel has full civil and military authority.
According to the report, that authority may also extend to appointing who leads the agencies, a task that currently falls to the head of the IDF, with the approval of the defense minister the only form of political intervention.
Religious Zionist leader Bezalel Smotrich is seen after coalition talks, outside a hotel in Jerusalem, December 5, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The reform could lead to the politicization of a highly sensitive role, potentially increasing tensions with Palestinians, the international community and the army itself, which takes pains to distance itself from political affairs.
The Channel 13 report quoted a senior defense official warning that such a move “will break the chain of command and create anarchy.”
“It can’t be that a minister who is not defense minister appoints the head of the Civil Administration,” the official added.
The network also said that Netanyahu spoke with Likud MK Yoav Gallant, a retired general who is expected to be the next defense minister, about the changes at the Defense Ministry. Gallant gave “the green light” to let Smotrich select the commanders of COGAT and the Civil Administration, the report said.
Earlier Monday, outgoing Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned that his successor will have to actively guard against military powers being peeled off and transferred to Smotrich and extremist Otzma Yehudit chief Itamar Ben Gvir, who is due to head a new National Security Ministry that will be given authority over Border Police in the West Bank.
Smotrich had initially sought the defense minister role for himself, but was rebuffed by Netanyahu due to his extreme positions and lack of security experience and amid reported concern from the Biden Administration.
He later pushed to have the Civil Administration transferred to the Finance Ministry, which he is set to take over, but sparked pushback from critics who said moving authority from the military to a civilian department would amount to de facto annexation of the West Bank.
The deal to keep the body under the Defense Ministry, but allow the junior minister to control COGAT and settlement policy, ostensibly represents a compromise between the sides.