Israeli Defense Minister Says Israel Ready for War, but Warns of ‘Harm to Readiness Over Long Term’

“Many components of the country’s resilience are trending negatively, and the harm to national resilience could result in harm to national security.”

By United with Israel Staff

Israel’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday held a classified political-security discussion at the Kirya army base in Tel Aviv.

The discussion focused on a regional briefing and the IDF’s readiness for performing its tasks in routine situations and states of emergency.

The meeting was held with the participation of Minister of Defense MK Yoav Gallant and representatives of the IDF.

During the meeting, Minister Gallant said that Israel’s enemies were analyzing and studying the internal events in Israel, and mistakenly believed that they had an opportunity to take advantage of what they perceived as the State of Israel’s weakness. Some reservists have threatened not to show up for reserve duty in protest against the judicial reform promoted by the government.

The Minister of Defense commented at length on the IDF’s fitness and cohesion, saying that the IDF was in the meantime fit to perform its tasks. “The IDF is ready to accomplish its missions…The harm to readiness so far is defined [somewhat contained],” he said, according to The Jerusalem Post.

He added, however, that “there is a possibility of harm to readiness over the long term.”

He continued that “many components of the country’s resilience are trending negatively, and the harm to national resilience could result in harm to national security.”

Nevertheless, Gallant warned Israel’s enemies, saying they should still fear Israel’s military, according to The Jerusalem Post.