Statement on behalf of the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir:

The Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir, was informed this morning through the media about the processes the Minister of Defense intends to carry out regarding the review team he established upon entering office – at a time when the Chief of the General Staff is in the midst of a General Staff surprise exercise in the Golan Heights arena.

The Turgeman Team Report was defined from the outset for the Chief of the General Staff’s use, to examine the quality of inquiries and integrative process of learning lessons in the IDF, and not for political use.

The decision to cast doubt on the report, which was written over the course of seven months by 12 Major Generals and Brigadier Generals, concluded by the Chief of the General Staff and presented to the Minister personally, is puzzling.
The committee heard more than hundreds of testimonies, conducted an in-depth examination, and carried out a professional process.
An alternative review of thirty days by the Ministry of Defense Comptroller, with all due respect – is not substantive.

In addition, the Minister has already been updated that one of the Chief of the General Staff’s first decisions following the report is to conduct an in-depth inquiry into the “Jericho Wall” plan, in light of its importance.

The IDF is the only body in the country that has thoroughly investigated its own failures and taken responsibility for them. If any further examination is required to complete the picture, it must take the form of an external, objective and independent commission, outside the IDF, that will examine the inter-organizational and multi-level processes that preceded the failure of October 7th, including the interface between the military echelon and the political echelon.

Regarding conclusions for individuals – these are internal command measures within the IDF that do not require approval.
The implication that the criteria, which were examined with utmost rigor, are not applied equally is inappropriate, especially in light of the amount of time and deliberation the Chief of the General Staff invested personally in the decision regarding each and every officer.

Freezing IDF appointments for an additional thirty days harms the IDF’s capabilities and its readiness for the upcoming challenges. The Chief of the General Staff will continue to hold posting discussions as planned, in accordance with his authority, and will submit the decisions to the Minister for approval as required.

We continue to operate with increased intensity across all arenas; in just the past two days, in an IDF operation, Hezbollah’s Chief of General Staff was eliminated and dozens of terrorists in the Gaza Strip were eliminated. In addition, this morning the Chief of the General Staff initiated a large-scale surprise General Staff exercise in the Golan Heights, as part of the process of implementing the lessons learned, restoring readiness, strengthening operational foundations and enhancing operational preparedness. The Chief of the General Staff continues to lead the IDF in the face of the existing operational challenges across all fronts.