Naftali Bennett Attacks Netanyahu: The Israeli Army is on the Brink of Collapse

Tel Aviv - Afaq News - Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett attacked Benjamin Netanyahu's government, warning of a worsening crisis within the Israeli army and accusing the government of ignoring the shortage of soldiers and what he described as repeated warnings about the consequences of this on the readiness of the forces.

Bennett stated during a protest event in Tel Aviv that the Israeli army is facing, according to his estimates, a shortage of about 20,000 combat soldiers, adding that there are warnings from within the military establishment regarding the difficulty of providing the sufficient number of forces to carry out the required tasks.

Bennett claimed that the shortage of manpower is reflected in the performance of the forces in the field, pointing to a lack of observers and snipers, as well as long service and reserve periods, and said that this could lead to the exhaustion of soldiers and affect the level of readiness.

Bennett also accused Netanyahu and ministers in his government of ignoring warnings related to troop numbers, calling for the recruitment of Haredi Jews into the army to fill part of the gap. Bennett had reiterated in other statements that the army is suffering from a shortage of nearly 20,000 soldiers, calling for increased participation of Haredim in military service.