State Comptroller's Letter to the Chief of Staff Regarding "Iron Swords" Inspections (January 25, 2024)

Attn.

Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi

Chief of the General Staff

IDF

Dear Sir,

In my opening words, I would like to thank the soldiers of the IDF and their commanders, who fight with courage and valor against the enemy. We all pray and wish for their success until victory.

As part of the dozens of audits recently launched by us on "Iron Swords" issues, all relevant senior officials and government bodies are subject to audit – from the Prime Minister, through the ministerial level and the political-security cabinet, culminating in the government ministries and public entities. The audit plan includes examining the failures and underlying reasons for the depth of the debacle, the examination of which is of paramount importance. It is our moral duty to provide Israel's citizens with answers, as they are entitled to explanations for the most serious failure in Israel's history.

As I have already stated on previous occasions, the state audit has no intention of hindering the IDF in the war effort. From the first week after October 7th until now, the State Comptroller Office's audit teams have conducted dozens of field visits and held hundreds of meetings with various parties. These tours and meetings have resulted in a detailed list of deficiencies and significant failures concerning the government's handling of the civilian home front. The list of failures has been delivered in real-time to the Prime Minister for immediate remedy.

During this period, I have instructed all audit teams in the State Comptroller's Office not to conduct tours of IDF bases and meetings with IDF officials, in order not to divert the IDF's attention from the war.

After more than 100 days of combat, during which the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) went through various stages of combat, according to IDF officials, it has become clear that there were serious failures that led to the events of October 7th. It is therefore necessary to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth examination of the state audit at all levels - governmental, military, and civilian.

As mentioned, as long as the fighting was at its highest intensity, I refrained from actually initiating audits in the defense establishment; instead, I announced that the audits would commence according to the development of the war, taking into account the state of the war and possible future developments.

As part of the audit opening letter sent to the IDF, it was emphasized that all that is required for the audit teams at this point is access to documents, in order to prepare for further audit actions. The same process is conducted in a practical and orderly manner with other defense agencies involved in the war, without publicly revealing their involvement. There is no reason why the same cooperation (which, it should be stressed, does not require attention on the part of the combat echelon) should not established with the IDF as well.

Moreover, there is no intention at this time of meeting with IDF officials engaged in combat. Secondly, your appointment of the external audit team indicates that you indeed believed that the IDF is capable of devoting attention to the examination of failures at this time. The announcement of the termination of the external inspection team's work highlights the importance of the state audit's activity as an objective and impartial body, designated to execute an independent examination without the examined body being able to determine the operating procedures of the body examining it. Therefore, it is clear to all that we cannot rely on the IDF alone to investigate failures in which it was involved.

As I have reiterated in recent weeks, there is no disputing the importance and contribution of establishing a state commission of inquiry, to investigate the war and the events that led to the murderous terrorist attack on October 7. Upon the establishment of an investigative committee, the scope of the inquiry will be defined with regard to the issues to be examined. 

Furthermore, under the State Comptroller Law, 5718-1958 [consolidated version], the State Control Committee may order the establishment of a state commission of inquiry based on the State Comptroller's report.

The events of the October 7th massacre are in no way similar to events from previous military campaigns, and the failures that led to the events of that day are without precedent. It should be made clear that the core of the criticism of the political and military echelons does not apply to the waging of 'Operation Iron Swords' but rather to the failings that preceded it. Due to the prolongation of the war compared to past conflicts, a plan has been devised whereby the necessary documents shall be provided to the audit teams by the IDF and other defense bodies, without holding meetings with combat ranks at this time.

At the same time, there is importance in the existence of investigations and lesson-learning processes in all organizations, especially the IDF, but they do not replace the state audit.

In light of the above, the audit in the IDF will take the development of the war into account, alongside the audits of the governmental and civilian echelons and of the other defense bodies.

In light of the matter's importance, I instructed the Director of the Defense Establishment Audit Division in the State Comptroller's Office to arrange a meeting for you with me as soon as possible.