MK Sharon Nir (Yisrael Beiteinu), who serves on the Foreign Affairs and Security committee, spoke with Arutz Sheva - Israel National News to say that if her party leader Avigdor Liberman were to be invited to join the War Cabinet, her party would immediately join the coalition.
"We are in a security situation of unparalleled complexity, with fierce fighting and multiple fronts. The main front is Gaza, and we need to finish the project there, the definition of which is predicated on three things: complete demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, including Rafah and the Philadelphi Route; the establishment of a security zone of at least a kilometer into the territory of the Gaza Strip; and complete freedom of operation to the IDF. Our enemies must understand that we will make them pay for the October 7th massacre, and a one-kilometer security zone will allow us to return residents to the Gaza Strip."
She claims that all terminology of agreements and containment was suitable for the period before the war and led to the erroneous 'misconception'. Now, the reality has changed, and clearer terms of complete victory and defeat are needed.
As someone who served as a senior officer in the IDF's cyber and communication units, she was asked about the claims that the IDF is focusing on technological advancements rather than physical strength. "There is a deep failure here which must be thoroughly investigated after the war. The failure of our intelligence, our military, and the conceptual grasp of our entire leadership are included, and we have a lot to learn," she said and declared that a look at the north and south fronts is enough to need a reorganization of the entire army. "It isn't the same army. We will need to reorganize the defense budget and force allocations against existential threats from scratch. We are surrounded by the Middle East and need to think of everything anew. Technology obviously won't save us. We need field presence to have security control and ensure that we are secure."
The idea that Hamas was deterred, she says, is part of the 'misconception' that failed entirely. "Anyone who said that containment, agreements, and symmetry between Hamas and us cannot think in those terms anymore. We need to understand that we need to change the equation from the ground up and not allow it to grow. A monster grew next to our fence, one that walked and grew, and we thought to be deterred. Never again. We need to assume the worst of our enemies' intentions."
Regarding her party's participation in the coalition, she said that the War Cabinet would be best advised to add her party leader, Avigdor Liberman, who has held views contrary to the 'misconception' for years, and noted that Liberman resigned from his position as Defense Minister due to his inability to enact policies to defeat Hamas. "I am happy to hear that we are all thinking the same way now. The moment that Avigdor Liberman is invited to join the War Cabinet, he will do so."
She was also asked about the possibility of further integration of women into various roles in the IDF, on the background of numerous stories of exceptional bravery by female soldiers and her own period of service as the advisor to the Chief of Staff on gender affairs. "I am proud to be among the leaders of the change in the last five years," she stated and pointed out how one of her goals has been incorporating women into combat roles according to operational needs. "Where there is real potential for quality manpower to be allotted to operational needs of different force allocations, we find success stories."
"We had doubts about women in armored units, combat roles, and long-range deployments. All of those became certainties, and the questions are no longer being asked," she said. Regarding the challenges of a mixed army, beyond the question of operational activity, she said that as someone who was a brigadier general for 31 years, she knows the challenges of incorporating minorities into the army, as has been in actual combat, and that the army has practical ways of enabling this, such as the 'joint unit'. "It is certainly possible and could bring good results and achievements," she concluded.