Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that came as the country is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region.
Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival. The prime minister cited “significant gaps” and a “crisis of trust” between the men in his Tuesday evening announcement.
“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defence minister,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defence minister.”
In the early days of the war, Israel’s leadership presented a unified front as it responded to the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
But as the war dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged. While Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant has taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for a diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the militant group.
In a statement, Gallant said, “The security of the state of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life’s mission.”
Gallant, a former general, has gained public respect with his gruff, no-nonsense personality. Throughout the war, he has worn a simple black buttoned shirt in a sign of sorrow over the Oct. 7 attack, and has developed a strong relationship with his U.S. counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Previous attempt sparked protest
Netanyahu’s previous attempt to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against the prime minister. He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Gallant over the summer, but held off, until Tuesday’s announcement.
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a Netanyahu loyalist and veteran cabinet minister who was a junior officer in the military. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who recently rejoined the government, will take the foreign affairs post.
Israel has officially notified the UN that it’s cancelling the agreement that had regulated its relations with the main UN relief organization for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, since 1967.
Netanyahu has a long history of neutralizing his rivals. In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.
“But they kept getting wider,” he said. “
They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy — our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it.”