Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed his senior ministers that the security cabinet meetings will be moved from the prime minister's office to a high-tech underground secure bunker in West Jerusalem, which hosts the national crisis management center in case a war was waged to threaten Israel’s security.
This sudden move was considered by observers as “a war message addressed to Iran.”
The relocation came after Netanyahu expressed frustration about information leaks specifically related to an Israeli cabinet meeting's discussion of the Iranian nuclear program.
However, security sources said it is “a message to Iran and anyone who thinks of threatening Israel.”
These sources added that Netanyahu is trying to say that "when he threatened to prevent the Iranian presence in Syria no matter what the price will be, he meant this seriously, and his decision lies in this direction.”
Two meetings of the 11-member forum have already been held there, and a third was scheduled for Wednesday, channel 10 news reported.
The Knesset voted early this month and gave the prime minister the authority to declare war or order a major military operation by consulting only the defense minister, and not via a full cabinet vote as the law had previously required.
Sixty-two Knesset members voted the dramatic proposal into law, beating out the 41 opposition MKs who opposed it, claiming that the language of the law effectively gives free reign to the prime minister by removing all oversight.
According to the new law, in “extreme circumstances,” military operations can be authorized by the prime minister and defense minister alone and do not require
a vote by cabinet ministers.
