Netanyahu Fired Yoav Gallant as Israel’s Defense Minister

COLlive & Israel National News

You’re fired—for the second time.

As the eyes of the world turn to the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the dismissal of his Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant.

“Gallant and I had substantial disagreements on the management of the military campaign—disagreements accompanied by public statements and actions that contravened the decisions of the Government and the Security Cabinet,” Netanyahu explained.

Gallant, a former commander in the Israel Defense Forces and a member of the Likud party, which Netanyahu heads, has long been a contrarian in cabinet meetings and over core decisions.

On March 25, 2023, Gallant spoke out against the government’s proposed judicial reforms. Netanyahu fired him the next day, sparking massive protests that night in several major cities across Israel. Gallant was soon reinstated.

The working relationship between the two slightly improved as they shared responsibility for the colossal failure of the October 7 attacks when Hamas terrorists killed over 1,200 people and took 251 hostages to Gaza.

“I have made multiple attempts to resolve these disagreements, but they have grown increasingly severe,” Netanyahu said on Tuesday. “They were also made public in an inappropriate manner, and worse yet, they reached our enemies, who took great delight and derived benefit from them.”

This week, Gallant decided to issue army drafts to haredi men, which threatened to break up Netanyahu’s coalition with the haredi parties, Yahadut Hatorah and Shas.

While the timing of the firing was not announced, the dismissal itself comes as no surprise to Israelis. Netanyahu recently reconciled with his former rival Gideon Sa’ar, welcoming him back to his coalition and hinting he would replace Gallant with Sa’ar.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu announced he is replacing Gallant with Israel Katz, the current Foreign Minister. Taking Katz’s position as Israel’s top diplomat will be Sa’ar.

Katz said, “I thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for the trust he has placed in me by appointing me to the position of Defense Minister. I accept this responsibility with a sense of mission and a deep commitment to the security of the State of Israel and its citizens.”

“We will work together to advance the defense establishment toward victory against our enemies and to achieve the war’s objectives: the return of all hostages as our top priority, the destruction of Hamas in Gaza, the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, curbing Iranian aggression, and the safe return of residents in the north and south to their homes,” he added.

Ariel Kahana, a commentator at the Israel Hayom newspaper, wrote: “Yoav Gallant joins a long line of Defense Ministers who have viewed the role granted to them by Netanyahu as a stepping stone to replace him in the Prime Minister’s Office.

“From the very beginning until now, he has been disloyal to the government and its leader. In fact, it’s rather surprising that the war could be managed with him so far, when the Prime Minister and most of the government are pulling in one direction, while the Defense Minister and the Chief of Staff are pulling in another.”

The move was welcomed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who said, “The prime minister made the right choice in removing him.” Ben-Gvir claimed that “absolute victory is not possible” with Gallant as Defense Minister.

On the other hand, opposition figures condemned Gallant’s firing. Democratic Union chairman Yair Golan called on the public to “take to the streets” in protest.

National Unity MK Orit Farkash-Hacohen said, “A Defense Minister who announces conscription orders for thousands of Haredim is fired in the middle of a war, on the eve of an [expected Iranian] attack, all for the sake of the draft exemption law.”

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