Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday fired his Defense Minister Yoav Galant in a surprise announcement that came as the country fights wars on multiple fronts across the region.
Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu avoided dismissing his rival. Netanyahu indicated that there were “big gaps” and a “crisis of trust” between the two men in his announcement on Tuesday evening.
“In the midst of war, more than ever, there is a need for complete trust between the prime minister and the defense minister,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although there was such trust in the first months of the campaign and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust has cracked between me and the Minister of Defense.”
In the early days of the war, the Israeli leadership presented a united front in its response to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. But as the war continued and spread into Lebanon, key political differences emerged.
While Netanyahu called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant took a more realistic approach, saying that military force had created the necessary conditions for at least a temporary diplomatic deal that could return hostages held by the armed movement to their homeland.
Many hostage families, along with tens of thousands of people who have joined anti-government protests, accuse Netanyahu of scuttling a deal in order to maintain his grip on power. Netanyahu’s hardline partners have threatened to topple the government if he makes concessions to Hamas, raising the risk of early elections at a time when the prime minister’s popularity is waning.
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Opposition groups called for mass protests late Tuesday. The Popular Forum, which represents the families of the hostages, said that Gallant’s dismissal is “a direct continuation of efforts to undermine the kidnappers’ deal.” She called on the new Defense Minister, Israel Katz, to make an “explicit commitment” to ending the war and reaching an agreement to bring their loved ones home.
The dismissal comes at a sensitive time. Israeli forces remain involved in Gaza, more than a year after invading the area, while Israeli ground forces are pressing ahead with a month-long ground invasion against Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon. Israel has also clashed with Iranian-backed groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, and faces the possibility of another strike by Iran. Iran vowed to retaliate for an Israeli strike that came in response to an Iranian missile attack on October 1, which in itself was a retaliation for previous Israeli attacks on targets linked to Iran.
Israeli TV Channel 12 said that Netanyahu’s decision came due to Gallant’s decision this week to send thousands of notifications to ultra-Orthodox youth.
Under a long-standing and controversial arrangement, clergy are exempt from military service, which is mandatory for most Jews. This system generated widespread discontent among the secular majority, and the Supreme Court of Israel ordered the government to abolish this system. Netanyahu, whose ruling coalition relies on ultra-Orthodox parties, has not yet implemented the order.
Channel 13 TV said that Netanyahu also took advantage of the US elections, when American attention is focused elsewhere, to dismiss his rival.
“The security of the State of Israel has always been, and always will be, my life’s mission,” Galant, a former general who gained popular respect with his gruff and calm personality, said in a statement.
Gallant wore a simple black button-up shirt throughout the war in a sign of sadness over the October 7 attack and developed a strong relationship with his American counterpart, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
A previous attempt by Netanyahu to dismiss Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Netanyahu. He also floated the idea of firing Gallant over the summer but held off on doing so until Tuesday’s announcement.
Katz, who replaced him, is currently foreign minister and is a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran cabinet minister.
Katz, 69, has been a junior officer in the army for decades and has little military experience, although he has been a key member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet over the years. Gideon Saar, a former rival of Netanyahu who returned to government in September, will take over as foreign minister.
Netanyahu has a long history of neutralizing his rivals. He claimed in his statement that he had made “numerous attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.
“But they continued to expand. They also reached the public’s knowledge in an unacceptable way and, worse still, the enemy’s knowledge – our enemies enjoyed it and benefited greatly from it.”
& Edition 2024 The Canadian Press
