News- Middle East: Israeli minister of military affairs Israel Katz has openly clashed with chief of military staff Eyal Zamir regarding a meeting the general held about high-level military appointments, saying it was not coordinated with him.

Prior to the military's official announcement, a list of promoted officers was leaked to and published by multiple media outlets. This prompted Katz to publicly condemn the military chief's measure.

Katz said the meeting held by Zamir was conducted “contrary" to the minister of military affairs’ "directive and without prior coordination and agreement, in violation of established procedure.”

Katz said he had “no intention of discussing or approving any of the appointments or names” that were leaked.

“The chief of staff will be required to coordinate in advance" with the minister of military affairs in order to discuss these or other appointments in the future, he added.

After officially announcing the appointments following midnight, Zamir hit back at Katz with a statement from the Israeli military saying, “The chief of staff is the sole authority under regulations for appointing commanders at the rank of colonel and above in the [military].”

The spat continued Tuesday morning, when Katz issued another statement insisting that he would follow the accepted procedures.

Unnamed military sources cited by several Hebrew media outlets on Tuesday accused Katz of “blackmail” and treating the army chief as if he were a junior soldier.

They alleged that Zamir had attempted for around a month to schedule a meeting with Katz regarding the round of appointments, without success.

A source cited by Ynet claimed that in an act of “unprecedented blackmail,” the issue was being linked by Katz to the administration's demand that the military prepare for the takeover of Gaza City, as approved last week by the cabinet, despite reported objections by Zamir and other top military officials.

Sources were cited by the outlet as assessing that while Katz was sending out the scathing messages, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the one actually behind the barrage.

Katz has engaged in previous public disputes with Zamir, continuing a pattern of visible tensions with military leadership. This includes repeated clashes with former chief of military affairs Herzi Halevi, as well as conflicts with other high-ranking officers such as ex-spokesperson Daniel Hagari and current spy director Shlomi Binder.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slammed the administration as "crazy" over the fracas, saying that "even a basic event like appointing officers in the [military] doesn’t go by without leaks, fights, slander and nighttime announcements.”

Source: Press TV