The already strained relationship between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz is at a new low after Bennett revealed a Mossad operation to the public earlier this week without consulting with Gantz beforehand, Haaretz reported on Thursday.

Although Bennett informed Foreign Minister Yair Lapid that he was publicizing the operation, he told Gantz only minutes before his speech, not giving him any time to protest.

According to the report, it was actually Gantz who was behind the reveal of the operation as a failure to the media following Bennett’s speech, an act that one source close to Bennett said “was totally abnormal.” Bennett was later slammed by many Israeli government figures for disclosing the operation, with reports saying that the operation had been deemed a failure by Mossad head Dovid Barnea.

Gantz is reportedly still furious at Bennett, with one coalition source describing the conflict as a “major political development.”

The strife between the two is ”major” due to fears that Gantz, who has long been frustrated that Bennett became prime minister instead of him, will bolt the coalition. Gantz has been repeatedly courted by the opposition, who are aware of his frustrations and hope he will agree to join them, toppling the coalition.

The coalition source told Haaretz that “we’re working on calming things down.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)