IDF complains Ben Gvir ruined the Hasbara
Translated (by GPT) from Hebrew news article:
Sources familiar with the details told Kan News that within the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit there was a desire to distribute the footage in order to show the world that IDF soldiers were not drawn into provocations and treated the activists respectfully. In the end, the Foreign Ministry vetoed the distribution and carefully selected which materials to publish. Several sources in the IDF were disappointed by the decision, but understood that the Foreign Ministry would handle the public messaging surrounding the incident — which carries international significance and implications for Israel’s foreign relations.
In the IDF, there was surprise over the footage distributed by Ben-Gvir featuring the activists. The minister effectively acted in complete contradiction to the decision of professional officials, and used his position to enter the secured detention facility — with the aim of provoking a confrontation and attracting attention.
A security source told Kan News: “While the Foreign Ministry, the IDF, and the security establishment acted quietly, calmly, and professionally in order to conclude the flotilla incident without escalating the situation and without granting its organizers the victory image they sought — Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived, together with additional members of Knesset, and did exactly the opposite.”
“The flotilla organizers wanted a provocation, were looking for confrontation, sought international headlines and images that would portray Israel negatively,” the source explained. “The incident itself had ended, the forces had completed their mission, the passengers had been brought to Israel — and then, instead of allowing quiet, professional, diplomatic handling, domestic politics entered the picture.”
The source sharply criticized the minister’s conduct: “It harms the diplomatic effort, harms the work of the Foreign Ministry, harms the professionalism of the IDF and the security forces, and above all harms Israel’s image in the world. In the end, it is the State of Israel that pays the price. Especially at a time when Israel is already facing severe international criticism. Every such move deepens the damage, provides raw material for campaigns against it, and weakens the public diplomacy and diplomatic efforts of those working day and night to minimize the damage.”