A “screaming match” occurred on Tuesday between Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli security leaders before the Israeli premier’s pledge to annex the Jordan Valley, Israeli media reported.
The conversation involved a difficult exchange between the Netanyahu and the security officials over his upcoming announcement, the Jerusalem Post reported, citing Maariv.
The Israeli PM’s announcement was delayed by over an hour due to the conversation, according to the daily.
Netanyahu told security officials of his intention to announce the immediate annexation of the West Bank but changed his intention due to harsh criticism from several heads of security branches, as well as legal opinions according to which there are difficulties in such an annexation such as this, Mariv quoted sources as saying.
The Israeli premier called the security officials a short time before he was to make his speech on Tuesday, when he announced his plan, Maariv said, adding that none of the security bodies whose heads criticized Netanyahu agreed to comment.
What happened between Netanyahu and the Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, the Shin Bet Chief Nadav Argaman and other senior officials, became the talk of the day in the hallways of the security facilities, JPost reported.
The conversation, according to reports, involved people raising their voices on numerous occasions, usually on Netanyahu’s side. The security officials speaking to him did not spare any words and used particularly sharp wording, according to the daily.
Source: Israeli media
