PM seeks power to go to war without government approval

A new initiative by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would allow him to decide on going to war with only the approval of the security cabinet, and not the full cabinet, Channel 2 reported Sunday.

The purpose of the bill is to avoid information leaks.

In some cases, according to the proposal, a prime minister would be able to declare war or get approval for a lengthy military operation even without the full security cabinet’s approval.

The cabinet already reportedly approved the amendment to Basic Law: Government, which would allow the full cabinet to vote right after a government is formed to allow the security cabinet to decide whether to go to war.

The bill is expected to be brought to a vote in the Knesset when its recess ends, in October.

The Prime Minister’s Office did not confirm or deny the report.

Zionist Union MK Eyal Ben-Reuven said the law is dangerous and eliminates the broad discretion necessary to decide on declaring war.

“War is a very dramatic event in the life of a nation,” he stated. “Therefore, I will do all I can to try to prevent another law that can be severely harmful to Israel’s future. I think this is another distraction from Netanyahu’s shaky legal situation.”

Former prime minister Ehud Barak, a prominent Netanyahu critic, wrote on twitter: “If the intention is to legislate the reality that (justly) is customary anyway that the security cabinet (and not the full cabinet) makes the decision that is fine. Much ado about nothing.”