First confrontation between the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff: Minister of Defense Israel Katz She backed up tonight (Monday) Brigadier General (res.) Oren Salomon who investigated the October 7 events in the Southern Command and was removed from his position. This is in light of reports on Channel 14 and Channel 12 that the officer was taken for questioning today at the MPC.
""I ordered Brigadier General (res.) Oren Solomon to be summoned to me as soon as possible so that he can present to me the investigation he conducted into the October 7th incident, which I have not yet seen. The fact that Brigadier General Solomon, who conducted an investigation with authority and permission into the Southern Command events on October 7th, in which he criticized the functioning of the senior echelon in the IDF, is being questioned is puzzling, and I intend to demand that the Chief of Staff examine the conduct of the Military Attorney General's Office in this matter.".
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""The impression must not be created that MPI investigations are a tool to silence internal criticism in the IDF that is so necessary to bring the full details to the attention of the families and the public and to draw internal lessons in the IDF.".
Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir He responded with his own statement, which was distributed by the IDF spokesman - which stated: "The Chief of Staff does not receive instructions through media statements. The claim that the officer was being investigated for his part in the October Seven investigations is false and devoid of any basis. The officer was summoned for questioning due to suspicions of serious information security violations. The investigation will continue to be conducted professionally and matter-of-factly. I support the law enforcement bodies in the IDF, which are acting in accordance with the law to investigate suspicions, as required.",
Before being taken for questioning, Solomon sent a letter to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense. In his letter, Solomon states that this morning his home was searched by the MPI, on suspicion of transferring secret documents to unauthorized parties.
According to him, the background to the investigation is the findings of the investigation he conducted, which point to two very serious issues: the failure of the Chief of Staff, the Operations Division, the Air Force, and the Southern Command in the first six hours after the start of the war, and an attempt to cover up the investigations, conceal documents, and compartmentalize them, run by the former Chief of Staff and other senior officers.
The senior officer claims that his request all along was to present the investigation within the army, in order to draw real lessons, but according to him, he encountered a "well-oiled system" that worked to conceal the findings of the investigation and prevent their publication.
About two weeks ago, the letter claims, the doors of the interrogation rooms and his computer cards were closed to him.
Solomon called on the heads of state and the security establishment to prevent the concealment of the investigation's findings and the attempt to silence it.
Salomon wrote in the letter: "The findings of this investigation point to two very serious issues - a. Failure of the Chief of Staff, the Operations Division, the Air Force, and the Southern Command, in the first six hours of the start of the war on October 7. b. Attempts to cover up the investigations, concealing documents and investigation materials, compartmentalization, and 'writing documents' in retrospect.".
The officer added: "Everything is planned, well managed, all the way through, by former Chief of Staff Lt. Col. Herzi Halevi, and a number of senior officials. In my understanding, this attempt is no less serious than the catastrophic failures, and perhaps parallel to the Shin Bet's 'Line 300' affair.".
IDF Spokesperson He said: "A police investigation was opened against the officer on suspicion of serious information security violations, following findings that emerged in an initial examination and required a deeper investigation. The officer was not arrested, he was summoned for questioning and appeared for it. The investigation is in its early stages and it is not possible to comment on the actions taken.".
MK Amit Halevi He sharply criticized the military establishment: "The arrest this morning of Brigadier General Oren Salomon, the director of combat for the Gaza Division, is part of violent attempts to cover up and conceal the failures of October 7.".
""The conduct of the military system throughout the year has been saturated with a deep conflict of interest and illegal actions against the State Comptroller and anyone who tried to get to the truth," Halevi added. "The arrest of Brigadier General Salomon is nothing more than a shameful and criminal attempt at intimidation whose despicable purpose is transparent and clear to everyone.".
