The government of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu without doubt poses an existential danger to the state of Israel, as his coalition partners conduct acts bordering on civil war. On Monday evening July 29, far-right activists broke into a military base where IDF soldiers detained on suspicion of abusing Palestinian terror suspects were being held for questioning, hours after a separate base had been stormed by a right-wing mob, reportedly organized by Netanyahu’s government.
The ringleaders were from the government itself, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu, Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot, and MKs Nissim Vaturi and Tally Gotliv of Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party, who called on their supporters to protest outside the bases. Some of the demonstrators wore military uniforms and face masks, and carried weapons, Maidan-style. Since the National Security Minister ordered the riot, the police showed up only hours after the demonstration had started and made no arrests. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich issued a statement saying the rioters “are justified and I support them with all my heart.”
Israel Defense Force chief Herzi Halevi, denounced the attack, saying it harmed the army, Israel’s security, and the war effort. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and President Isaac Herzog, as well as Netanyhu, all harshly criticized the rioting and appealed for calm, but their words did nothing to prevent a mob outside the IDF’s Beit Lid base in central Israel from carrying out a similar break-in.
