Ex-PM Bennett Claims IDF Opposed Sinwar Assassination in 2022

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett revealed on Wednesday that the Israeli military and security establishment initially opposed assassinating Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during his premiership. Bennett stated that the possibility of eliminating Sinwar was discovered almost by accident during a military briefing in Gaza. He recounted his surprise upon learning of this operational option and immediately ordered his staff and military secretary to begin planning the operation.

However, Bennett faced significant resistance from the professional echelons of the security forces. They argued against the assassination, warning that it would "ignite a war" during a period of relative quiet and questioned the necessity of such an action. The plan was temporarily shelved until a wave of terror attacks in the spring of 2022 prompted Bennett to revisit the issue.

Bennett claimed he again pushed for the assassination, citing Sinwar's "axe speech" and the deadly attack in Elad that followed shortly after. Despite this, security officials reportedly maintained that the attacks were unrelated to Hamas, with one investigation showing the perpetrator had not heard Sinwar's speech. Bennett asserted that despite these disagreements, a decision was eventually made to proceed with the operation, setting a target for the summer of 2022.

The plan was ultimately canceled due to the collapse of Bennett's government in June 2022, preventing its execution. Bennett shared these details during a speech at the "Choosing Agriculture" conference hosted by the Farmers' Association of Israel.