Yashar chairman and former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot ruled out the possibility of Brig. Gen. (res.) Ofer Winter, chairman of the Amcha Yisrael party, serving as defense minister in a government led by Eisenkot. Winter responded sharply, making clear that he has no intention of joining an Eisenkot-led government in any case.
“No. I think Ofer Winter is a good field commander. He was not part of the military’s strategic-level command, and he did not hold senior positions," Eisenkot told Channel 13 News.
Winter responded that the gap between him and Eisenkot stems from fundamentally different security doctrines. “There is a strategic conceptual chasm between us. I have already said that I have no intention of being part of your government, and I will do everything I can to prevent it from being formed."
Winter added that he has opposed Eisenkot’s security doctrine for years. “For years, I have opposed the security doctrine you led. I opposed containment, I opposed de-escalation, and I also saw the judgment of the strategic command you are referring to in the appointments you made - with Yair Golan, Aharon Haliva and Herzi Halevi."
He continued: “So if that is what you mean by the strategic command you are referring to, I am proud that I was not part of it."
According to Winter, his party seeks to promote a different security doctrine from the one he attributes to Eisenkot. “That will not happen under our watch. New people will bring new approaches, swift decisive action, voluntary emigration, and IDF soldiers will always, but always, come before enemy civilians. We, Amcha Yisrael, will bring about positive change."
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar responded: “If a brigadier general (res.) is unfit to serve as defense minister, how is someone who has never served as a cabinet minister in any government ministry fit to be prime minister?"