Senior army figures are pessimistic about the Israeli gestures, specifically the withdrawal from Hevron, and predict that \"new and improved\" Palestinian terrorist attacks will resume within a few days.
On the other hand, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Sha’ul Mofaz apologized for his unprecedented statement of opposition yesterday to the withdrawal from Hevron. He said that the statement was \"not worded correctly.\"
Politicians from both left and right said that such outspoken opposition by the military to government policies was most inappropriate in a democracy. However, other voices were heard as well. Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA noted that Prime Minister Sharon and Ministers Peres and Ben-Eliezer acted undemocratically themselves when they lied to the Cabinet yesterday about Mofaz\'s position. During the Cabinet meeting, Minister Sharansky asked why he had to agree to the IDF withdrawal from Hevron when \"even the Chief of Staff opposes it.\" Peres, Ben-Eliezer, and even Sharon all said, according to a report in Ha\'aretz today, that they knew nothing about Mofaz\'s opposition. The three ministers, however, actually heard from Mofaz on Friday that he objected to their planned gestures. \"If the three members of the security mini-cabinet, who have been making the critical decisions of the past few months, lie to their fellow ministers about the army\'s position,\" said Lerner, \"there could be serious consequences with regards to the ability of the cabinet to make informed decisions.\"
On the other hand, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Sha’ul Mofaz apologized for his unprecedented statement of opposition yesterday to the withdrawal from Hevron. He said that the statement was \"not worded correctly.\"
Politicians from both left and right said that such outspoken opposition by the military to government policies was most inappropriate in a democracy. However, other voices were heard as well. Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA noted that Prime Minister Sharon and Ministers Peres and Ben-Eliezer acted undemocratically themselves when they lied to the Cabinet yesterday about Mofaz\'s position. During the Cabinet meeting, Minister Sharansky asked why he had to agree to the IDF withdrawal from Hevron when \"even the Chief of Staff opposes it.\" Peres, Ben-Eliezer, and even Sharon all said, according to a report in Ha\'aretz today, that they knew nothing about Mofaz\'s opposition. The three ministers, however, actually heard from Mofaz on Friday that he objected to their planned gestures. \"If the three members of the security mini-cabinet, who have been making the critical decisions of the past few months, lie to their fellow ministers about the army\'s position,\" said Lerner, \"there could be serious consequences with regards to the ability of the cabinet to make informed decisions.\"