Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir cancels planned visit to the US amid rising IDF alert level
A senior IDF official explained the decision: "You can’t put the army on high alert and fly abroad"
The Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, canceled his planned visit to the United States on Wednesday. This comes against the backdrop of increased alertness in the IDF and a sensitive security situation, as reported by i24NEWS military analyst Yossi Yehoshua.
The decision to cancel the trip was made by the military's top echelon even before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements yesterday regarding threats to Israel. One senior IDF official made it unequivocally clear what prompted the move, saying, "You can't put the military on alert and fly abroad."
As part of the official visit to Washington, Zamir was scheduled to hold a series of strategic meetings with the American Chief of Staff and with the commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM).
The talks were intended to deal with joint security coordination and preparations for developments in the region. Nevertheless, the state of high alert declared in the operational units of the IDF, alongside the need for close management of readiness on the ground, determined that at this time the Chief of Staff must remain in Israel.
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The decision in the army comes against the backdrop of increasing security and political tensions in the past 24 hours, after Netanyahu claimed yesterday during a visit to the Tel Nof base that "there are indications that ahead of the elections our enemies will try to attack us," and sent a message stating that "our long arm will reach you anywhere and anytime."
The statement led to a late-night security update meeting between Netanyahu and opposition leader Yair Lapid, who claimed afterwards that "the IDF, Shin Bet, and the police are prepared for elections, and there is no reason to cause public panic." While the political arena saw confrontation between the sides over the timing of the warnings, the military command translated the situation assessment into an actual state of heightened alert, which led to the cancellation of the Chief of Staff's trip.