“A state inquiry is necessary, not to accuse, but to get to the root of the problems, and to make it possible to fix them,” Herzi Halevi said.
Outgoing IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi called for a state inquiry into the prime minister and government regarding the events of the October 7 massacre during the chief of staff changeover ceremony in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, in which incoming chief Eyal Zamir replaced him.
“A state inquiry is necessary, not to accuse, but to get to the root of the problems, and to make it possible to fix them,” he said.
הרמטכ”ל היוצא הלוי: “צה”ל חווה לעיתים יחס משתלח, לפני המלחמה ובמהלכה. לא חייבים להיות לוחמים כדי להביע דעה, אך חלק מהמטיפים על מחסור באומץ ובנחישות מעולם לא הרגישו הדק קר בלילה מול אויב, לא שמעו נשימות חבר פצוע על אלונקה הנישאת בשטח עוין”@idfonline pic.twitter.com/861UJWCCYz
— ערוץ כנסת (@KnessetT) March 5, 2025
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led the ceremony in the presence of all of the leaders of the defense establishment. Along with the entire IDF high command, Mossad Director David Barnea and Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar were also in attendance, as was CENTCOM chief Michael Kurilla.
Halevi said, “I was sworn to be faithful to the State…was always transparent, the good of the State was always the top value…and I was never loyal just to a person.”
הרצי הלוי: “הקמת ועדת חקירה ממלכתית – נחוצה וחיונית” | הרמטכ”ל היוצא נשא דברים בטקס ההחלפה: “לא כדי להאשים, אלא בראש ובראשונה כדי להגיע לשורש הבעיות ולאפשר תיקון”@idfonline pic.twitter.com/VuIT6aJ5dw
— ערוץ כנסת (@KnessetT) March 5, 2025
At the same time, he said that the IDF is always obligated to follow the orders of the political echelon. Turning to Netanyahu, he said he knew that the higher up one is ranked, the harder the operations approvals become and that he appreciated the freedom of action which the prime minister gave the IDF to be proactive and to act.”
In a not-so-veiled criticism of Netanyahu, he said that the IDF can never leave wounded soldiers “in enemy territory” as 59 Israeli hostages are currently in captivity.
“We must do everything to return all of the hostages; this is critical for victory,” he said.
The outgoing IDF chief demanded that the government recruit the haredi community into the army, as “the army of the nation,” in order to reduce the heavy pressure on the reservist army.
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‘Equal burden sharing’
Zamir said that he will press for an “equal burden sharing” of serving in the IDF in a clear reference to wanting to increase the number of haredim serving in the IDF.
He said, “Therefore, we will act to broaden all of the parts of the population in all of the units of the IDF. The role of defending our State must be divided up equally.”
The incoming IDF chief said that while the Torah and Jewish tradition are important, action is also crucial.
Zamir stated that the size of the army and its budget must grow and soon.
He also committed to returning all of the hostages and all Israeli residents to their homes in the North and the South.