Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday 8 Iyar summoned Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon for a clarification meeting after the two went head-to-head in a public forum on Sunday.

Speaking to the IDF’s most senior command, Ya’alon urged his officers to “Continue acting in line with human conscience and compass and not follow the direction the wind is blowing”.

As Ya’alon was addressing the officers in the Defense Ministry on Sunday, the Prime Minister’s Office released a statement that PM Netanyahu gives his full backing to the IDF, its commanders and its soldiers. The statement then continued to once again condemn remarks made on the eve of Independence Day by Deputy Chief of Staff Yair Golan, remarks connected to the Holocaust they drew fire from many. Golan stated that some of the processes that occurred in Germany in the 1920s and 190s he sees taking place in Israel today. Despite the PM’s condemnation, DM Ya’alon defended his senior commander.

The PM and DM also were at odds pertaining to the manslaughter case involving the IDF soldier who shot a wounded terrorist to death in Hebron on Purim. Ya’alon called for placing him on trial by the PM’s Office was more sympathetic.

On Sunday night Ya’alon added “A good army permits its commanders, senior and junior alike, to speak their minds at all times, aware they will not suffer for doing so”. He added “during recent months we have been fighting an extremist minority that acts both on the ground as well as on social media. Part of this fringe group has made its way to mainstream undercover, as it tries to influence the values of the IDF. The Defense Minister called for keeping the IDF out of the political arena.

PM Netanyahu on Monday called Ya’alon for a clarification meeting which lasted about an hour. Analysts feel that the move was nothing more than Mr. Netanyahu seeking a measure of political gain following the recent events involving DM Ya’alon.

A few hours after the meeting they issued a statement that they have worked out their differences.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)