Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected most of the criticism directed at him and his government over the cabinet's performance during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge, as outlined in the State Comptroller's report on the 50-day conflict with Hamas. According to the official response by the Prime Minister's Office to the report, penned by Counterterrorism Bureau chief Eitan Ben-David and obtained by Israel Hayom, the majority of the concerns highlighted by the comptroller in the report have already been addressed. The response adds that additional concerns are currently under improvement following Netanyahu's directive to implement the Amidror committee's recommendations on streamlining the way the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet operates during wartime. Regarding the criticism that "the prime minister must define the cabinet's objectives, the scope of its authority and its work process," Ben-David wrote that "the desired [cabinet] conduct is the same conduct that has existed since the establishment of the state. It answers the needs and addresses the points of criticism as well." "The prime minister stresses that none of the ministers [who complained about the government's conduct during Operation Protective Edge] complained about this matter. A commission headed by Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror to examine the cabinet's workflow, whose recommendations were approved by the government, did not recommend changing the work structure of the cabinet." The PMO response also said, "The prime minister notes that he supports the recommendation to establish an official cabinet protocol for when the government decides on a military action that could lead to war."
Rejecting criticism, PM says post-Gaza war concerns addressed
In official response to state comptroller's report on Operation Protective Edge in Gaza in 2014, PMO says majority of criticism in report has been addressed, other aspects being improved in wake of Amidror committee's recommendations.
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