Amid growing spat, Katz orders Halevi to ‘fully cooperate’ with Oct. 7 probe

Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday said he had instructed Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi to “fully cooperate” with the state comptroller’s investigation into the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, amid growing tensions between the pair.

The order came after State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman on Monday accused the military of “intimidating” senior officers who gave testimony in the framework of his investigation into the multi-level failures leading up to and during the October 7 Hamas invasion, and said its conduct raised suspicions it was not fully cooperating with his probe.

Englman’s probe is not a high-level state commission of inquiry, the establishment of which has thus far been rejected by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and most members of his government.

“There is no way for there to be a situation where the IDF appears to be afraid of the necessary public scrutiny and transparency, given the grave nature of the events that took place on October 7, when the chief of staff was in command of the IDF,” Katz said in a statement issued by his office.

Katz said he ordered Halevi to allow the state comptroller “access to any material that may be required and fully cooperate” with the state comptroller’s investigation.

In a highly critical and strongly worded letter to Halevi, Englman said that army officials had clandestinely recorded interviews his office conducted and briefed officers as to how to answer questions, among other measures he claimed were designed to obscure the truth.

Englman announced in December last year the launch of a broad investigation into “multi-system failures,” including examining those with “personal responsibility” for the “failures on all levels – policy, military and civilian,” but the IDF has been strongly resistant to his probe and was compelled by the High Court to cooperate with the investigation.

The comptroller’s probe into the events of October 7 is currently the only state-sanctioned comprehensive investigation into the attack, during which some 1,200 people were massacred by terrorists from Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups in southern Israel, and 251 people were taken hostage.

Critics of the government, including members of the opposition and several government watchdog groups, have expressed concern that the probe by Englman, who has no legal background and was appointed to his position under a Netanyahu-led government, could seek to minimize political responsibility for the devastating October 7 onslaught.

Englman has denied this and insisted that his investigation will address all aspects of the failings with equal weight.

Netanyahu and the government in general have strongly resisted the establishment of a state commission of inquiry, claiming such a probe would be politically slanted against them since its members would be selected by the president of the Supreme Court — which they say is a left-leaning institution — and contending that any probe should only take place after the war is over.

The IDF is conducting its own investigations into its failings before and during the October 7 assault, including its overall assumptions relating to the situation in Gaza and of Hamas, issues regarding intelligence and the decision-making process leading up to the attack, and the fighting after the invasion was staged.

The statement issued by Katz’s office on Wednesday also said the defense minister “reminds the chief of staff of his directive to finish the [internal] investigations being carried out by the IDF by the end of this month and to present to him with the investigations that are already prepared at a faster pace, so that he can examine them and assess their impact on the planned rounds of appointments in the IDF.”

Holding up appointment of generals

Katz had told Halevi that he would not sign off on any officers being promoted to the rank of major general, and would also oppose the appointment of any major generals to new roles, until the investigations were completed and presented to him.

In the latest statement, Katz’s office said that “due to the delay in presenting the investigations and the fact that substantial investigations, including the events of [the night between] October 6 and 7, have not yet been presented to him, there is great difficulty in approving even appointments at lower ranks.”

“Therefore he decided to approve at this stage only appointments up to the rank of colonel,” Katz’s office said.

In late December, a meeting in which Halevi was to decide on appointments for some 60 colonels and brigadier general was postponed due to disagreements with Katz. The defense minister has already refused to approve the promotion of two senior officers.

Katz also intended to summon Halevi for a meeting on the matter, the statement added.

After Katz’s statement, the IDF hit back, saying in a statement that the issues should not be resolved via the news media.

The military said it was in the midst of carrying out internal investigations “to improve the defense of the country and its citizens.”

The probes were progressing according to the military’s activities, the IDF said, noting that “the commanders who are [currently] managing the battles are also the ones who are carrying out the investigations.”

The military warned that if the commanders are distracted by the investigations during the current fighting, it may cost lives.

“The IDF is cooperating fully with the state comptroller, even though such an audit has never been conducted during a war,” the military says, adding that currently 18 probes are being carried out by the state comptroller in the IDF.

The IDF argued that its “quality investigations” are “a very important basis” for the state comptroller’s probe, and they will be given to Englman upon completion.

The military said it is prioritizing the “quality of the investigations” over completing them at a faster rate, but will still “do everything to finish them professionally as quickly as possible.”

On the issue of the appointments, the IDF said that its process is “professional,” and any involvement by officers up for promotion in the events on October 7, 2023, is “examined in-depth and where there is no clarity, the decisions are postponed.”

“The IDF is committed to continuing a professional appointment process for its servicemembers who have been fighting for a year and three months in a row,” the military said.

“The resolution of the issues should take place in a dialogue between the defense minister and the chief of staff and not through the media,” the IDF added.

Threatening Hagari

After the statement was put out by the military, Katz’s spokesman issued a veiled threat at IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

“The IDF spokesman, who apologized not long ago for exceeding his authority, and attacking the political echelon, again exceeds his authority, attacks and preaches morality to the political echelon,” Adir Dahan said, despite the IDF’s statement in response to Katz being approved by Halevi personally.

“An apology this time will not be enough,” Katz’s spokesman added.

Hagari had last month apologized for criticizing a law being advanced by the government that would shield members of the defense establishment from prosecution should they give classified intelligence to the prime minister or defense minister without authorization.

His comments were made in a press conference without prior approval by the IDF chief, and he was reprimanded by Halevi over the incident.

Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.