After Netanyahu, Israel’s Bennett revives paralyzed security Cabinet
Contrary to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who sidelined and paralyzed the security Cabinet, Israel’s new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett turns it back into an essential link within the decision-making process.
For 12 years, Israel’s security Cabinet was the near-exclusive domain of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That's now about to change from one extreme to the other.
On June 16, the “government of change” approved the new security Cabinet in a telephone poll of the government. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will now head what is considered to be the most prestigious and important decision-making body forum in Israel, consisting of nine men and three women. The prime minister will be joined by Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman, Justice Minister Gideon Saar, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, Transportation and Road Safety Minister Merav Michaeli, Internal Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, Minister of Housing and Construction Zeev Elkin and Minister of Religious Affairs Matan Kahana.
Bennett’s office announced that the new security Cabinet would convene every Sunday, right after the weekly Cabinet meeting. This is a big change, especially compared to the last few years, when Netanyahu hobnobbed the body, emptying it of any meaningful responsibility and convening it infrequently. He preferred to keep security affairs close to his chest and to make decisions in consultation with the heads of Israel’s security apparatus. The only reason he ever convened the security Cabinet was when there was a political exigency or some legal obligation. In the previous government, most security and diplomatic decisions were made by Netanyahu and Gantz, who held the position of defense minister — a position he still holds.
The Cabinet is expected to convene June 20, at which time they will be joined by the chief of staff and the other heads of the defense establishment. It will include briefings and a discussion to set policy in dealing with Hamas in the Gaza Strip — a front that has started heating up again over the past few days.
