An unpleasant incident occurred at the start of the Independence Day state opening ceremony on Tuesday when an argument broke out over the seating arrangements for the IDF Chief of Staff and the Director of the Mossad.
Kan News reported that at the beginning of the ceremony, a debate arose over the location of IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and Mossad Director David Barnea's seats. The two were forced to sit with the general public and not in the fenced and secure area designated for members of the order of precedence.
The relegation of the Chief of Staff and the head of the Mossad to the general audience stands created immediate security chaos. The situation led to a frontal and physical altercation at the scene between the Chief of Staff's personal security detail and the cermony's production crew.
This is the second unpleasant incident to be reported from the cermony. It was reported that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) walked out of the event with his wife after the organizer, Minister Miri Regev (Likud), denied his request to sit next to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
While those close to Ben-Gvir accused Regev of lacking stateliness, the ceremonies department claimed that he accidentally sat in the seat reserved for Argentine President Javier Milei.
Following an exchange of words and the attempt to seat him in a different section, Ben-Gvir decided to leave the complex with his wife, just a short time after arriving to honor the ceremony.
Ben-Gvir's circle did not hold back criticism of Minister Regev: "It is very unfortunate that Miri Regev did not internalize that this is a state ceremony in which all government ministers are supposed to participate. Minister Ben-Gvir and his wife came to honor the ceremony and it is regrettable that Minister Regev behaved in this way towards him."
The ceremonies department stated: "In contrast to the report, Minister Ben-Gvir recieved a seat like the other ministers and members of the order of precedence, but apparently accidently sat in the place designated for the Argentine President and his entorage. Minister Ben-Gvir was asked to sit in the seat assigned to him."