On March 28, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon to order him to stop returning to the Palestinian Authority (PA) ​the bodies of Palestinians killed while attacking Israelis. Netanyahu’s order stands in stark contrast to the firm opinion of Ya’alon and many others in the defense establishment who believe that keeping the bodies will not only fail to deter potential terrorists, but might actually increase the motivation among Palestinians to launch revenge attacks.

Ya’alon was at the same time considering more than just security. He was also taking moral considerations into account. In a meeting of the Security Cabinet in October, Ya’alon had expressed his reservations about a demand by ministers from HaBayit HaYehudi and Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan to keep the Palestinians' bodies. He reportedly said, “Israel doesn’t deal in dead bodies.” At that same meeting, Ya’alon claimed that keeping the bodies could lead to the abduction of soldiers, who would then be used as bargaining chips to obtain the bodies' return.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot, and Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, coordinator of government activities in the territories, also argued that keeping the Palestinians' bodies would only serve to intensify the intifada. In addition, Eizenkot opposed calls from politicians to undertake collective punishment or launch military operations in the territories. He was concerned that such steps would be detrimental to security cooperation with the PA and result in the intifada spinning out of control.

So what motivated Netanyahu to make a decision counter to the prevailing wisdom among the defense establishment? What caused him to act now and release an oddly worded statement that portrays the defense minister as someone who fulfills his orders with no right to express his opposition about them even if he thinks they are damaging to the State of Israel?