Eisenkot on Zini: "An excellent officer, all appointments will be examined in another 3 weeks"

Gadi Eisenkot addressed the appointment of Shin Bet chief David Zini at a conference, calling him "an outstanding field officer," while criticizing the appointment of cronies in the government. He said the appointments would be examined in another 3 weeks. Eisenkot said the discussion on a preemptive strike against Hezbollah was not documented, and expressed willingness to support a government without 61 supporters as an alternative to Netanyahu.

Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar party, addressed the "This Generation" conference today regarding the appointment of Shin Bet chief David Zini, whom he described as "an outstanding field officer." Alongside the praise, Eisenkot sharply criticized the phenomenon of appointing cronies in the government, mainly in the Prime Minister's Office, and said that "from the moment people are appointed and are in the role, one must demand of them loyalty to the state and not to the one who appointed them." He added that the appointments would be examined on their merits in another 3 weeks. Eisenkot recounted a crucial discussion that took place three years ago, four days after the outbreak of the war, on the question of whether to launch a preemptive strike against Hezbollah. According to him, when he arrived at the discussion he discovered that its first part had not been documented, and therefore "we will never know what happened in the first 40 minutes." Regarding the formation of the next government, Eisenkot said that if the choice were between a transitional government headed by Netanyahu and a government without 61 supporters but with an "absolute Zionist majority," he would bring about a vote of support for such a government, subject to the four principles he set out. He noted that his goal is for the Yashar party to be the largest, ahead of Likud, in order to establish a strong government that will make decisions on matters of state education, a commission of inquiry, and a conscription law.