'What awaits Israel in the next round of the war is frightening’

A Conflicts Forum’s compilation focused on the effects of war on Israel's societal fabric, drawn from Israeli commentators writing predominantly in Hebrew, 28 March 2026

Former IDF Ombudsman General Yitzhak Brik: ‘What awaits Israel in the next round of the war is frightening’ /

“The IDF is collapsing” — ‘The Chief of Staff stood there and shoved the ugly truth in the Cabinet members’ faces’ /

“We have been in an inferno for two and a half years” — ‘Bleak realities’ on the Lebanon border; Kiryat Shmona, ‘the first Israeli city to collapse’ /

Ben Caspit: ‘White Nights in the Knesset as the Government exploits the war; looting & passing controversial issues under cover of sirens and missiles’ /

Netanyahu’s Cancellation of Trial Request Enters Most Crucial Phase /

“What Has Become of Us?”, “Have we become the vilest of nations?” — A Religious Zionist Rabbi’s call in wake of sadistic sexual settler violence /

Ben Caspit: ‘Thousands of Violent Settlers equipped with a “license to kill” from the authorities strive for chaos and the Gog and Magog war’

Ethnic demons -- Netanyahu’s Acting Chief of Staff resigns after report of racist slurs

[These compilations are drawn from analysis & commentary by Israeli political and security commentators in the Hebrew press — as reports published in Hebrew often provide a different window on Israeli internal discourse. Minor edits have been made for clarity].

STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS; CONSEQUENTIAL OBSERVATIONS —

Former IDF Ombudsman General Yitzhak Brik: “What awaits Israel in the next round [of the war] is frightening” — ‘Israel not strategically prepared for a multi-front war which will threaten our very existence’ (Ma’ariv):

For years I have served as a bellwether at the gate ... I stand [here] now, as the clouds of regional war grow darker. My calls for strategic introspection are met time and again by the same impenetrable wall: a public that burys its head in the sand is afraid of the truth, [following instead] the institutionalized lies of the political, military, and media echelons. This is a people who live in the moment, refuse to look to the horizon, and pay for it in blood. After the terrible failure of 7 [October], it seemed that something had cracked in Israeli arrogance. The same detractors who had persecuted me in the years before the disaster … because I dared to point out the IDF’s lack of preparedness, came to ask for forgiveness. Suddenly my “courage” was praised. But the national memory turned out to be terrifyingly short … [Now again], I refuse to participate in the party of illusions. Because I continue to cry out that the ground army has been worn down to the bone and that the State of Israel is not strategically prepared for a multi-scene war from several theatres at the same time, which would threaten our very existence ...

The DNA of the disaster: This behavior is not accidental; It is embedded in our historical DNA. This is the same pattern of action that led to the destruction of the First and Second Temples. This is the same criminal indifference that met Jabotinsky on the eve of the Holocaust, when he pleaded with the Jews of Europe to “destroy exile, or the exile will destroy you,” and was met with contempt ... the false messiahship of the “strongest army in the world” that shattered against the fences of Gaza and Lebanon. We are captives of a concept of power, but hollow from an operational perspective … Netanyahu and the military echelon ... continue to manage the event with yesterday’s methods, while tomorrow’s threat is already here. The [IDF] ... has been demoralized for decades in favour of shiny technology and an air force that alone cannot decide an all-out war … The Israeli and US air forces ... are not capable of overwhelming or overthrowing the Iranian regime on their own ... The Iranian regime, with massive support from Russia and China, will restore its operational capabilities and will make every effort to turn the 400 kilograms of enriched uranium it possesses into ten atomic bombs, a threat ... too heavy for Israel to bear ...

The slippery slope to the abyss: The real tragedy is that we refuse to learn. History does not repeat itself, it simply exposes those who have not read it. Today’s Israel is a country that is addicted to tactics and abandons strategy. We win small battles, but lose in the battle for existence … The Israeli public must understand: convenience is the enemy of preparedness. The illusion that we can continue to live in a Tel Aviv bubble or in shallow political discourse while the earth is shaking is the surest way to the destruction of the Third Temple. If we do not succeed in replacing arrogance with operational humility, lies with painful truths, and smugness with realistic assessments of the situation, we will not survive. A country that does not know how to look in the mirror and see its flaws will end up broken. The clock is ticking, and this time, there may be no one to ask for forgiveness afterwards. A miracle happened to us on 7 [Oct] when Hezbollah decided not to join the attack in the north at the same time as Hamas’ attack ... Those who build on additional miracles will end up disappearing from the map.

IDF Chief of Staff: “The IDF is going to implode; In a short time, the IDF will not be ready for its routine missions”

Channel 13: IDF Chief of Staff told the security cabinet: “The IDF is going to implode. I am raising 10 red flags to you. The IDF now needs a conscription law, a reserve law, and a compulsory service extension law. In a short time, the IDF will not be ready for its routine missions — and the reserve system will not last.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid: “The Chief of Staff warns of the collapse of the IDF, the government is ignoring it. In the next disaster, the government will not be able to say ‘I didn’t know’. It bears responsibility ... In the next government ... we will mobilize everyone. The discrimination between blood and blood will stop.”

Former PM Naftali Bennett: “Zamir is now shouting what I have been saying for two and a half years. A government that depends on Deri and Goldknopf is unable to provide security to the State of Israel and is unable to win.”

“The IDF is collapsing” — ‘The Chief of Staff stood there and shoved the ugly truth in the Cabinet members’ faces’ (Amir Shperling, leading opposition protest commentator):

The Chief of Staff walks into the cabinet meeting. It sounds like the start of a bad joke, but no one there is planning to laugh. He stands there in his uniform and places on the table a stack of papers ...: “We’re collapsing.” No metaphors and no edited videos with captions of “Victory for generations”— just the weary mathematics of an army that’s run out of air, run out of spare parts, and above all, run out of people. The Ministers look at him with blank stares … On Channel 14’s studios, they just aired a panel that confidently explained how we’ve brought everyone to their knees, so what’s he coming to them now with this sour reality? Right away they call him a Kaplanist, say he’s weak, a defeatist ... They’re already drafting the dismissal letter.

But the truth is … they’re furious at him because he just wrecked their alibi for the next screw-up. They know full well that this vehicle is barreling without brakes straight into a wall. And when the disaster comes—and it will—Netanyahu and the government will have to do what they’ve been practicing in front of the mirror for years: find someone to throw under the wheels … “The military echelon hid it”, “We were caught off guard” — but when the Chief of Staff stands there and shoves the ugly truth right into their faces ... he’s basically sabotaging their excuse. He’s stuck them with the responsibility. And for this government, being left alone in a room with its own responsibility—that’s the deepest fear there is. Far scarier than any enemy.

White Nights in the Knesset as the Government exploits the war; looting & passing controversial issues under cover of alarms and missiles’ (Ben Caspit, Ma’ariv, 24 March):

[A] white night has just ended in the Israeli Knesset ... the horrific government that took over the State of Israel is taking advantage of the terrible war ... in order to continue the looting, continue the coup, continue to pass under the cover of alarms and missiles all the controversial issues that are tearing Israeli society apart and leading us to the brink of the abyss. The coalition of interests, minorities and post-Zionists is doing these things … because it is shameless, uninhibited [and] because it can. [And], because we can no longer protest. We are tired after a long war, we do not like to demonstrate and protest during war, we are in the reserves, our businesses are collapsing, our nights are white and our elected officials are being robbed …

The list of things that can and cannot be done during a war: The list of things that cannot be done during a war, according to the forty bandits who serve in the government, is varied: You cannot establish a state investigation committee. You cannot go to the elections. You cannot mobilize the Haredim. You cannot open your pockets and really help small business owners, the self-employed, and reservists. And what is possible [during war]? We can continue the looting as usual, we can continue the coup d’état as usual. During the night they worked like crazy in the Knesset. A law to dramatically increase the powers of the rabbinical courts. A law to divide and weaken the role of the Attorney General. [A] North Korean Communications Law. A National Service Law for the Haredim instead of military service ... And another law, hold on tight: sweeping tax benefits for all residents of Judea and Samaria. This law, regarding tax benefits, deserves to be expanded upon … Smotrich [worked to take his] target voter audience (residents of Judea and Samaria) and exempt them from taxes. Why them and the other residents of the confrontation line? Like that. Because we can, that’s why. It is, ostensibly, a political bribe. But no one is excited, because we live in the midst of a large bribe, rolling and rolling, because only half an hour ago they transferred five billion shekels to “coalition funds” and immediately afterwards stole in the dead of night a few more billions that were designated as a special reserve for the war, but exempted them from any regulation, so that the Smotrichs and the Deri and the Goldknopfs could divide them as they pleased among themselves ... One thing is certain: with the 5 billion shekels of coalition funds, it would have been possible to produce about 750 Arrow 3 interceptors, the most expensive in our arsenal …

“We have been in an inferno for two and a half years” — ‘Bleak realities’ on the Lebanon border; Kiryat Shmona, ‘the first Israeli city to collapse’ (Ben Caspit, Ma’ariv)

Kiryat Shmona Mayor Avichai Stern and Margaliot Moshav Chairman Eitan Davidi. Two proud right-wingers, two regional leaders responsible for the safety, well-being and security of second-class, perhaps even third-class, Israelis. Two who were filmed this week in monologues from the stomach, from the entrails, from hell. Stern spoke at a meeting of mayors and councils in the presence of representatives of the most promiscuous government in Israeli history … [He] is a relatively reserved person. The party he once belonged to [Likud] is boycotting … ostracizing [and] humiliating him, all because he dared to challenge a favourite and close associate of Mrs. Netanyahu. He is managing the conflict with tolerance, trying not to exaggerate the insults, understanding that if he overdoes it, he will be swallowed up … This week he lost it. He rightly lost it. For almost five whole minutes his cry continues, at the top of his voice, with all his soul … The video burned up the Internet. Here is the text:

“We lost a city in the State of Israel. This is the first time a city in the State of Israel is leaving. Today there are 10,000 residents in Kiryat Shmona. Do you expect them to stay another month in this bleak reality? Do you think they will stay here??? In another month, ten people will be here, only those who cannot leave. And you’re telling me that if we evacuate, it will be a victory for Hezbollah? Guys, Hezbollah will decide that it wins in the end, no matter what. Its victory will be that there will be no city left in the State of Israel. Not if they evacuate or not. I have 4,700 apartments without standard protection or no protection at all. What kind of victory is this??? You haven’t taken care of protection until now, so in real time protect them. Can’t you get them out of danger. You don’t send a soldier into battle without a helmet, right? Why put a civilian on the front line without a shield? That’s the minimum ... to provide us with security. You failed!! … That’s how our residents live. Do any of you know what a missile strike is? With children at home, with the disabled, with the elderly, how do you expect the guy last week who was hit by a missile on the third floor at the age of 80 to get to the shelter in ten seconds? How do you expect the poor bus driver to stop the bus, get the passengers off, and get to safety? … If this bus had been full of passengers, I would have had a multiple casualty incident (MCI) without having any medical response here for MCI … Tell me, are you normal??? … What kind of citizens are we??? Do I need to call Hezbollah for a ceasefire so I can get them out by helicopter? Should I talk to Hezbollah instead of my country?

“At the height of this audacity, they are still saying that Kiryat Shmona received money and is not spending it … What money came to me??? … There is no money. 25% of my residents are on welfare today. Every fourth citizen is on welfare, do you understand that? That is the population in the city today. 28% of students in grades 1 to 8 cannot read and write! ... I have had potholes in the road for two years and I am unable to fix them, why??? … I have 400 holes from 400 direct hits in the city. Two years later, people are still travel on the raods and you want to ... talk to them about resilience? Resilience has a limit … I wake up every morning and feel that the State of Israel is fighting me, not Hezbollah or Iran – me!!! … [if we continue] like this, there will be no Kiryat Shmona left”.

Eitan Davidi … broke down live on television … Davidi is a tough man. He doesn’t break easily. But his strength couldn’t stand him. His cries could be heard in every house … At one point, he simply began to cry. The tears flowed uncontrollably from his eyes. “You finished Kiryat Shmona, you finished the settlements along the fence, you finished everything!!! … How many rounds???”, he cried. “We are fighting for our houses!!! We are doing everything we can here. But there is no country behind [us]. To succeed, you need a country, you can’t do it alone … What are you doing, Lord of the world, what are you doing???!!! Either say that you are unable to handle these incidents and release us, or do what is necessary ... I screamed my soul everywhere I could … and here today instead of a wedding, [we have] a funeral”.

Israel has fallen into the hands of a reckless, shameless and unscrupulous government. They have now distributed 5 billion shekels to themselves in “coalition funds” when we have been in an inferno for two and a half years. With this money, the entire north and south could be protected. With this money, almost a thousand Arrow 3 missiles could be purchased … Netanyahu himself, one of the greatest paranoids who was here, walks around with a protective [room]. It is real. He arrived with it at Dimona, and perhaps Arad … It left with him on [a truck] … when a significant portion of the public has nowhere to run during an alarm. Two weeks before the previous attack on Iran, he received a serious report from the State Comptroller according to which millions of Israelis do not have sufficient protection or any protection at all … [The report] was buried. Because Netanyahu is only interested in Netanyahu …

The current government ... reduced the northern defense budget from half a billion shekels this year, to one hundred million. Why? Because they’re not interested in the north. They’re not interested in the south either. What interests them? … Netanyahu is interested in remaining prime minister, dismantling the judicial system, canceling the trial, and satisfying Sara — in reverse order. Smotrich is only interested in Judea and Samaria. The Haredim are interested in not enlisting and continuing to [appropriate] billions. A coalition of destruction of depraved people.

Netanyahu’s cancellation of trial request enters most crucial phase; Ministry of Justice’s Pardon Department opposes the request (Anna Barsky, Ma’ariv):

Minister Amichai Eliyahu submitted to President Herzog a positive recommendation to grant clemency to Netanyahu, in complete contradiction to the position of the professional echelon … In practical terms, this means that Netanyahu’s pardon request has entered the most crucial phase for the President’s Office … What is known officially is the position of the professional echelon at the Ministry of Justice, according to which the Pardon Department opposes the request. According to the opinion, Netanyahu’s request is “precedented and extremely unusual”, and that it is difficult to recommend that the president exercise the power of pardon by stopping the criminal proceedings against him, even before a judicial decision. The same opinion also emphasized that Netanyahu did not admit to the offenses and did not express remorse -- two considerations that are considered to have significant weight in the accepted practice of the pardon institution … Herzog is not yet required to make a final decision, but the circle around him is closing. Unless extraordinary completions are required, the next step will be the President himself … If Herzog ultimately decides to grant the request, he will be required to explain how such a move is compatible with the fact that the trial is still ongoing and with the professional opposition that has been announced. If he rejects the request, he is expected to face a political attack from Netanyahu and his supporters, who will claim that he has given up an opportunity to bring an end to a case that has shaken the public system for years. Either way, the decision - when it is made - will not be perceived only as a personal decision in Netanyahu’s case, but as a principled position on questions of the rule of law, relations between the authorities, and the status of the institution of the presidency at one of the most charged moments in Israeli politics in recent years.

Ben Caspit: ‘Thousands of Violent Settlers equipped with a “license to kill” from the authorities strive for chaos and the Gog and Magog war’

They used to arrive in the dead of night. Sneaking in secretly. Maintaining strict compartmentalization. They leave no marks, they make no waves, they disappear as they came, immediately after they have thrown a Molotov cocktail into a house in a village, set fire to a car or vented their anger in an olive grove. Today, it has been reversed. They come in large, organized groups, sometimes dozens of masked people, they do not hide, do not hide, do not whisper but shout. They come standing tall, with clubs and other weapons, they come as licensed rioters, bluntly, with authority, with self-confidence. They come, burn, destroy, smash, sometimes even skulls - not only those of Arabs - and take pictures. Then these videos [see an example here] are uploaded to their channels, with cheerful background music …

They brag about riots, arsons, beatings and rampages. They do everything defiantly, as if they are equipped with a “license to kill” from the authorities. The truth is that they really are equipped with such a license. The authorities are the hesitant army, the non-existent police and the Shin Bet that is getting lost in the hills. At some point this will explode on us and turn our world upside down. The settlers themselves will bear the brunt of the damage. The vast majority of the settlers in Ofra, Efrat, Gush Etzion and dozens of other communities where good, law-abiding and statesmen live. When the fire ignites and burns and consumes the entire environment, they will be the first to pay the price. The rioters, whose numbers have grown from tens to hundreds, supported by thousands, want it to happen. They strive for chaos, for the Gog and Magog war, followed by the flood, followed by the Messiah, and then the Temple built. Whichever comes first.

Apart from a handful of left-wing activists, who have recently become legitimate targets for brutal attacks … No one cares. We are walking between the alarms of the splitting missiles, the launches from Lebanon and the situation in Gaza and do not realize that the real gates of hell await us ... in Judea and Samaria. Watching the videos that they themselves distribute, is terrifying … “This phenomenon,” says a very senior security source, “is now changing before our eyes. What was once the domain of dozens is now being carried out by hundreds, with the support of thousands. This is a dramatic test point at which it will be determined whether we will become the Wild West, a state of no law and no judge, or whether we will demonstrate governance. If this matter is not suppressed and stopped immediately, the deterioration will be rapid and irreversible. And it will not remain in the hills. It will also reach … Tel Aviv, and it will spread throughout the world and consume the rest of our legitimacy.”

“What Has Become of Us?”; “Have we become the vilest of nations?” — A Religious Zionist Rabbi’s call in wake of sadistic sexual settler violence (Judy Maltz, Haaretz):

Last week, Rabbi Yehuda Gilad, a prominent figure in the religious Zionist movement … [went to] a Palestinian Bedouin village in the northern Jordan Valley often targeted by West Bank settlers ... to hear testimonies from the victims of [a] horrifying incident [last week]. So profoundly shaken was this Rabbi by what he saw and heard ... that he [wrote] on his yeshiva’s Facebook page ...: “Have we become the vilest of nations?” A group of between 30 and 40 settlers, Gilad [wrote], invaded the village in the middle of the night. They bound the men and brutally beat them … then stole their entire herd of 300 sheep. One of the victims had revealed “with deep shame” horrific details of the physical and sexual abuse he had experienced. Introducing the testimony of this man, Gilad wrote: “… My hands tremble when I write this about Jews …”. The settlers, the Rabbi recounted, had bound the man’s genitals with a zip-tie and forced his family members to watch. [Rabbi Gilad wrote:] ... “All I can do is cry out. Alas, what has become of us?”

IDF vs. Jewish militias & Jewish terrorism in the West Bank (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth Ahoronot):

What began with the promise of a brilliant, immediate victory has gradually become a promise of a long road … Netanyahu keeps telling us that we have been upgraded: we were a regional power and now we are a world power … I am not afraid of Iran, nor of a long road. Megalomaniacal, narcissistic leaders, thirsty for glory to the point of exhaustion, scare me. I have no confidence in their judgment … Israel is currently embroiled in a war on four fronts ... In Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza, there is no clarity about the results … The fourth front, Judea and Samaria, is hiding on the fringes, but more is happening there than the headlines say. [Last week], the Chief of Staff was summoned there -- an unusual event in the midst of a war. Netanyahu [too] was called to a closed conversation with the army commanders in the region ... If I am not mistaken, Katz was also invited, as was Ben Gvir. The burning issue was the Jews, not the Arabs: the IDF versus the Jewish militias. Jewish terrorism in the West Bank, the so-called Hilltop Youth which is not a new issue. The panic is related to the unrest registered among the commanders on the ground. Netanyahu has been called upon to calm things down … [IDF] Officers and soldiers who fought without limits in Gaza, shot and killed and expelled, become a laughing stock when they reach Judea and Samaria. Rioters in and out of uniform throw stones at them, burn their vehicles, spit in their faces, injure and kill uninvolved Palestinians -- and they can do nothing.

When Netanyahu ... gave the police to Ben Gvir, the Civil Administration to Smotrich and the settlements to Minister Strok, it was clear that the explosion would come. The appointment of Yisrael Katz as defense minister closed the last corner: the Kahanist militias received state protection; the IDF and Shin Bet were deprived of the tools to restrain them. Not only were the officers opposed to the occupation fed up, so were the religious officers ... They cling to the claim that it is a few hundred criminals, that’s all, that the overwhelming majority of the Jewish residents [in the West Bank] oppose Jewish terrorism, that the phenomenon can be curbed … This claim is only partially true. Their problem is not the boy who is abusing them, but the minister who gave them weapons, money, and a manual. The rioters who go out at night to harm the army, set fire to Palestinian houses, expel herds ... are certain that they are acting with permission and authority, on behalf of the state. They are right. Fact: No one is punishing them. The [IDF] Chief of Staff traveled to the field and gave backup to the commanders. The commander wrote a letter to the heads of the settlers. But they are on their own: [that weekend], more than twenty Jewish terrorist acts were committed … If anyone in the army expected public support from the prime minister and the defense minister, they were wrong.

Ethnic demons — Netanyahu’s Acting Chief of Staff resigns after report of racist slurs; His predecessor faces corruption allegations (Haaretz):

According to a report by Channel 12, Ziv Agmon, who assumed the position of Netanyahu’s acting chief of staff because his predecessor faces corruption allegations, made a series of derogatory comments in closed conversations about members of his own party. “It’s not good that Morocco was opened to Israeli tourism – now we know where our Moroccans came from: Africa. A baboon is a monkey,” he was quoted as saying. “… What a bunch of baboons. Too bad the entire list can’t be reserved and the primaries scrapped,” he was quoted as saying … Agmon, who is considered close to Sara Netanyahu, was also quoted as making disparaging remarks about her. “The stupid female lawmakers understand that only flattery works with Sara …”, he allegedly said. Agmon said the comments attributed to him … were made prior to his appointment in the PM’s Office and were taken out of context. He added that he decided to step down because the reports had generated “divisive discourse” around him … Before announcing his resignation [this week], Agmon said: “I do not intend to address every vile statement attributed to me tonight [Tuesday], but there is one thing I cannot let pass in silence. Anyone who knows me ... knows full well that the words attributed to me regarding Mizrahi communities are completely foreign to me – not least because a large part of my own family is of Mizrahi and Moroccan descent. A grave injustice has been done to me.”

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