“The Yom Kippur War was a lesson that we should learn every day and every hour, to understand that every one of us could make a mistake in understanding reality. Therefore, it is our responsibility to make sure arrogance, complacency and intellectual tyranny do not take over,” said Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon at this year’s official memorial ceremony held Oct. 5 on Mount Herzl, commemorating the fallen of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. It was a deceptive statement, intended to give the impression that the country’s leadership is acting out of insightfulness and humility.

Until just a few weeks ago, the defense minister was engaged with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a long and complicated round of exhausting fighting against Hamas in Gaza. For a short moment, one could have thought that the defense minister understood the risks inherent to maintaining the diplomatic status quo and the need to think creatively about the Palestinian Authority after the stalemate that ended Operation Protective Edge.

But in that same speech, Ya’alon made it crystal clear that nothing had changed about his approach, and that the proper response to security threats against Israel is a military one. “Rapid changes are underway throughout the Middle East. Israel must follow them closely from a position of readiness. It is our duty as leaders to extend our hand in peace, but at the same time we must not deceive ourselves regarding our enemies’ true intention. … From both near and far, organizations, states and entities are trying to harm us in many different ways, using missiles and rockets, terrorism, a campaign of delegitimization and the goal of developing nuclear weapons. We must know how to fight back if, God forbid, that becomes necessary.”

Israel’s legitimacy continues to collapse worldwide, and possibilities of forming regional coalitions with neighboring Arab states are receding rapidly. Nevertheless, by expressing his distrust in the diplomatic tracks, Ya’alon is exemplifying the same mode of thought that he warned against in his speech. But this error is not limited to a way of thinking; it is also expressed by irresponsible action. The defense minister has chosen to ignore all the signals Israel is hearing from within the United States and Europe, and constantly advances construction across the Green Line. All this, as would be expected, puts his statement that Israel will “continue extending our hand in peace” into question. After all, it is obvious to everyone that there can be no diplomatic track, not even by way of the Gulf States, as long as construction in the settlements continues.