By The Media Line Staff

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday urged disciplinary action, including possible dismissal, against Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, intensifying a rare public confrontation at the top of Israel’s defense establishment over how to investigate the military’s failures in the October 7 attacks. The dispute pits Zamir against Defense Minister Israel Katz and has drawn in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and comparisons to US civil-military norms.

In an interview with public broadcaster KAN Reshet B, Smotrich said Zamir had crossed a red line by openly challenging the minister who oversees him. “A reality where the IDF chief releases statements attacking the minister overseeing him is inexcusable,” he said. Smotrich argued that in democratic systems the army must not “publicly attack the political echelon,” adding, “In the US, the chief of staff would have received a phone call from Trump [who would] fire him then and there.”

The clash grew after Katz instructed Defense Ministry Comptroller Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yair Volansky to review the findings of a panel led by Maj.-Gen. (res.) Sami Turgeman, which Zamir set up to examine senior officers’ responsibility for the October 7 failures. Zamir has warned against political interference in professional military assessments, while Katz has insisted that the process must be credible and transparent.

Smotrich said “standard laws and basic codes” of democracy require the chief of staff to respect the authority of elected officials, stressing that the defense minister “is an elected official, part of the political echelon.” He rejected claims that Katz’s stance is driven by Likud party primaries rather than institutional authority.

Netanyahu, who appointed Zamir, has been drawn into the rift. Sources close to the prime minister told KAN that Netanyahu “made a mistake” with the appointment and that Zamir is acting more independently than promised. In a meeting this week, Netanyahu reportedly told Zamir he is “right about some things, but is still subordinate to the political echelon.”

The feud comes as Katz has blocked a series of senior promotions, creating a months-long freeze that has encouraged several officers to leave the army rather than wait for clarity on their futures. Working relations between Katz and Zamir have reportedly been reduced to the bare minimum, even as Zamir spends time with forces training in the North for potential combat with Hezbollah in Lebanon or a flare-up with Syria.

The standoff has turned into a broader debate over the balance between military professionalism and political oversight at a time when Israel is still grappling with the shock of October 7 and facing ongoing security threats on multiple fronts.