State Comptroller slams gov’t for war failings on civilian matters

Israel’s State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman has harshly criticized the government for its conduct on civilian matters at the start of the war. The main criticisms made by the Comptroller include: no central body was appointed to handle emergency needs, even though this had been recommended after the end of the Second Lebanon War, and even the State Comptroller wrote about it in the past. The National Emergency Authority, which was supposed to act in this situation, had been heavily cut over the years and did not function in real time. The Home Front Command did not provide a complementary response. The socio-economic cabinet that was authorized to handle civilian issues was dissolved, the civilian control center was established but did not function and was closed, the CEOs’ Forum did not make decisions, and the ministries operated alone without any overarching body, with enormous duplication between different ministries.

The State Comptroller’s report blames Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (and to a less extent his predecessors Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid), Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, and Prime Minister’s Office director general Yossi Shelley.

The report deals only with civilian issues related to the war. This is because military issues are deeply disputed between the State Comptroller and the IDF, and the matter has even come before the High Court of Justice several times. The State Comptroller claims that he has full authority and even a professional duty to inspect the core of the military failure of October 7, while the IDF claims that the Comptroller’s method of inspection does not allow the IDF “basic due process rights.”

This was also accompanied by political tensions due to the opposition’s fear that the State Comptroller would become a substitute for a state committee of enquiry, a claim that was also echoed in the IDF’s own claims. However, just before the publication of the current report, which lambasts the government, Comptroller Matanyahu Englman and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir met to “work together to increase cooperation in all matters concerning state audit of the IDF.” They also appointed people on their behalf to “examine the necessary adjustments” for this purpose.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on September 3, 2025.

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