A stormy late-night Cabinet meeting erupted into shouting between National Security Minister Ben Gvir and NSC head Hanegbi, as Netanyahu pulled the Red Cross debate from the agenda.
Israel’s Diplomatic-Security Cabinet convened late Thursday night, but instead of quiet deliberation, the session devolved into fierce arguments over the National Security Council’s demand to allow Red Cross visits to terrorists jailed in Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu initially opposed even placing the issue on the table, citing strong opposition from National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. Netanyahu accused Ben Gvir of leaking Cabinet positions to the press:
“I saw before the meeting and during the discussion briefings in Arutz Sheva, Israel Hayom, and elsewhere, on who supports and who opposes the decision. I don’t operate this way—this item is being removed from the agenda,” Netanyahu said, according to Kan News.
Ben Gvir shot back:
“You’re talking to me about briefings? You are briefing against the army, and the army has been briefing against you all week.”
Netanyahu left the meeting earlier than expected, handing the gavel to NSC chief Tzachi Hanegbi. When Ben Gvir later requested to speak, Hanegbi refused, saying Settlement Minister Orit Strock had already been chosen as the final speaker.
The exchange ignited into a shouting match:
- Ben Gvir snapped: “Calm down, this is not your role. You’re just an adviser.”
- Hanegbi quipped: “Don’t worry, I’ve eaten two hundred like him.”
- Ben Gvir retorted: “Yes, yes, I saw what you did when you were Police Minister.”
- Hanegbi sarcastically shot back: “Of course, because you’re the best minister, excelling in the role.”
The confrontation dragged on until Hanegbi abruptly announced the session’s closure—without granting speaking time to either Strock or Ben Gvir.
The heated episode underscores the fractures inside Israel’s governing coalition, even as the country faces war and mounting international pressure. At the center of the storm: whether terrorists who butcher Israelis should be rewarded with Red Cross privileges—a move many ministers, and much of the public, fiercely oppose.
