Naftali Bennett, the chairman of HaBayit HaYehudi, sent a series of tweets Aug. 14 in an attempt to stymie a political and media attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his effort du jour to bolster his power at the expense of the government and the Knesset.

The preceding day, Channel 2 had aired an exclusive report revealing that over the past few weeks, Netanyahu has been promoting an amendment to the Basic Law Concerning the Government. The proposed provision would allow the prime minister “to declare war or to launch a military operation, without the need for its approval by the government, and in certain cases, without the presence of the entire [security] Cabinet.” According to the report, the new law would be submitted to the Knesset as soon as it returns from recess in October.

The report was headlined “A Declaration of War without Government Approval.” As expected, it has received considerable attention in the political world and in the media.

Meretz Chair Zehava Gal-On used her Facebook page to accuse Netanyahu of promoting a “law that will make it possible to send soldiers to their deaths, without the approval of the government, and on occasion, without the [security] Cabinet's approval either.” She went on to accuse government ministers of having lost all sense of shame. “Netanyahu has made them one step lower than a rubber stamp, and they are silent,” Gal-On wrote.