Less than three weeks in the role, new IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, had a first public clash with Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday over the investigation of a senior reserves officer for alleged “severe” security violations.

The row erupted after Katz ordered Zamir, in a statement to the media, to examine the Military Police investigation of Brig. Gen. (res.) Oren Solomon. In response, Zamir said he does not take orders via the media, and defended the investigation of the senior reservist officer. Katz later responded to Zamir, saying he could give orders to the chief of staff “in any way he deems appropriate.”

On Monday evening, Katz had put out a statement demanding to meet with Solomon, an officer who was involved in the Gaza Division’s probe into its failures related to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, after he was booted from reserve duty and put under investigation by the Military Police.

The October 7 probe that Solomon was involved in, which has not yet been made public, reportedly found fault in the higher echelons of the military. Many other IDF probes have come to similar conclusions.

Solomon was not responsible for the probe, but rather just involved in it, according to the military.

Channel 12 news reported last week that Solomon, a member of the hawkish HaBithonistim group, told associates that he believes he was removed from reserve duty because he found fault in the IDF’s top command.

The army said that Solomon worked on the probe for a year with full support and that the end of his reserve service was unrelated to the probe.

According to the IDF, Solomon was dismissed by his commander, Gaza Division chief Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram, because of various disagreements between the pair, unrelated to the October 7 investigation and the........

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