Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after months of clashes over domestic politics and Israel’s war efforts.
In a recorded statement Tuesday evening, Netanyahu said that “trust between me and the minister of defense has cracked.”
Israel Katz, currently the foreign minister, will become defense minister. Gideon Sa’ar will replace Katz as foreign minister, the prime minister’s office said Tuesday. Neither has extensive military experience, though Katz has served in the cabinet throughout the war.
The move came as voters in the United States, Israel’s most important ally, voted for their next president. Gallant is a close interlocutor for the US administration, and has been said to have daily conversations with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The reshuffle happened at a crucial moment for Israel, which is fighting bloody wars in Gaza and Lebanon while awaiting a potential retaliatory attack from Iran.
Gallant responded to the decision shortly after it was made public, posting on X that the “security of Israel has been and will always be my lifelong mission.” In a televised statement, he said his dismissal was the result of a dispute over three things: the issue of ultra-Orthodox military service, the abandonment of hostages in Gaza, and the need for an official inquiry into Hamas’ October 7 attack.
“There isn’t and won’t be forgiveness for abandoning the hostages,” he said. “This will be a ‘mark of Cain’ that the Israeli society bears, as well as those leading through this wrong path.”
Netanyahu said Tuesday he had “made many attempts” to bridge differences with Gallant, but that they “kept widening” and “came to the public’s knowledge in an unacceptable manner.” He continued: “Worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy – our enemies enjoyed it and greatly benefited from it.”
Israel’s political class has long speculated that Netanyahu would fire Gallant and replace him with a political ally to shore up his domestic power. Netanyahu has struggled to maintain a hold over his fragile, right-wing governing coalition and its muddle of competing interests, whose collapse could spell the end of his leadership.
When Netanyahu first sought to fire Gallant last year, over his opposition to proposed judicial reforms, it led to mass nationwide demonstrations. Minutes after Netanyahu made the announcement, opposition leaders called for Israelis to take to the streets in protest.
Demonstrations erupted in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Protestors outside Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem shouted “shame!” In Tel Aviv, protesters blocked a main highway while families of hostages held in Gaza chanted “Bibi is a traitor,” using the prime minister’s nickname.
Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is still in Gaza, said in a statement that firing Gallant “during a war and appointing a yes-man, who lacks security related experience, in his place, is sending a clear message – no one will stand up to Netanyahu and prevent him from torpedoing deals and prolonging the war.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called it an “act of madness.”
“Netanyahu is selling out Israel’s security and IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers for his despicable political survival,” Lapid posted on X Tuesday.
CNN
