Netanyahu ‘ordered Israeli army to turn off recording’ of war cabinet meetings

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to turn off recording at the army’s command centre where meetings of the Israeli war cabinet are held as soon as Israel’s war on Gaza began on October 7, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

Under normal circumstances, everything that takes place at the army headquarters’ command centre is automatically recorded by a system in operation there.

However, Netanyahu order that only his office would be allowed to record war cabinet and other meetings after October 7, not the Israeli military, according to Haaretz.

The instructions were conveyed by Netanyahu’s former military secretary, Major General Avi Gil.

The Israeli military usually records war cabinet meetings in order to help issue orders based on the results of these meetings. However, Netanyahu not only stopped this but ordered Israeli army officers to leave recording devices outside the room during cabinet meetings.

Israeli army Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi was himself searched for recording devices, according to Haaretz.

The news comes as Israeli leaders face accusations of war crimes and genocide, with ICC prosecutor Karim Khan requesting arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 38,713 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured nearly 90,000 more.

Residential areas, schools and hospitals have been deliberately targeted and the territory has been left in ruins.

Last October it was revealed that a document from the Israeli intelligence ministry had recommended that Israel expel all the Palestinian population from Gaza, and several Israeli politicians have made genocidal statements during the course of the war.

In November, Netanyahu himself was accused of incitement to genocide after comparing Palestinians to Amalek, a people who the Bible tells the ancient Israelites to “wipe out”.