MK Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit), who is expected to become National Security Minister, responded Wednesday to IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi's comments on the recent altercation in Hebron.
In an open letter last week, Kochavi said that, "We also witnessed an IDF soldier who did not only act in opposition to the IDF’s values and speak profanely toward civilians, but also expressed himself politically and impaired the value of 'stateliness.' The IDF is a 'people’s army,' which has no room for expressing political views or taking actions that derive from political considerations."
"I very much respect the Chief of Staff, but it would be well if he would do what he is demanding," Ben-Gvir said.
"I would have expected that the Chief of Staff, just like he demands that a soldier not express himself politically, himself refrain from political statements.
"It is not a surprise that when the Defense Minister is not functioning, and there is no one to set the policy, a leadership vacuum is created. I will emphasize: I have no intention of involving myself in punishment, but the policy will have to change."