IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir appeared before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Sunday and delivered a classified security briefing.
This was the first time Zamir addressed the committee since taking office a year and two months ago.
Regarding the draft, the Chief of Staff stressed that passing three conscription laws is critical for the military. He stressed that the law being passed must not be a "virtual law" alone and noted that he does not want to be portrayed as supporting one specific version of the law or another.
He warned that without advancing the laws, the reserve army will not be able to cope with the load in the coming years. According to Zamir, the three laws are needed to prevent substantial harm to the reserve system's competence and coping ability.
Discussing the war and regional threats, Zamir said that he "waits for the moment to be allowed to return to fighting." He revealed to the committee members that he was prevented from striking Iran's national and energy infrastructure during the recent rounds of fighting.
Regarding Lebanon, Zamir stressed that "there is no ceasefire in the northern arena," and added that "the IDF was not given the task to disarm Hezbollah," but rather, "defend from anti-tank fire and invasion, and to create the conditions for the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah."
The meeting also discussed ex-Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi in light of the demand by ministers and MKs to strip her ranks. The Chief of Staff noted that he is waiting for the legal process to conclude before taking steps on the military level, and added: "I will be the first to act on the matter."
Following the briefing, Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth wrote: “Today, we are once again seeing Iran’s refusal, it’s either negotiations or boom."