File image.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on November 6 amid war on multiple fronts.
Netanyahu first informed Gallant that his tenure would end within “48 hours” in a letter handed over to him during a meeting, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. The prime minister thanked the defense minister for his service in the brief letter.
The decision was later announced by Netanyahu, who cited a lack of mutual trust during a time of war as his reason for firing Gallant.
“Unfortunately, although in the first months of the war there was trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defense minister,” said Netanyahu in a video statement.
He added that the two disagreed on the management of the war, and that Gallant had made statements and taken actions that contradicted cabinet decisions. The premier went on to accuse Gallant of indirectly aiding Israel’s enemies.
“I made many attempts to bridge these gaps, but they kept getting wider,” Netanyahu 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.”
The “crisis of faith” with the defense minister “does not enable the proper continuation of the [military] campaign,” he continued.
Netanyahu added that most members of the government and cabinet were in agreement with him “that this cannot continue. In light of this, I decided today to end the tenure of the defense minister.”
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, while Minister without Portfolio Gideon Sa’ar will replace Katz in the Foreign Ministry.
After being fired, Gallant said on the X social network that “the security of the State of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life’s mission.”
At a later press conference, the former defense minister said that disagreement on several issues were behind the decision to fire him, including the need to draft Haredi men to the military, the imperative to bring back the hostages from Gaza, and the need for a state commission of inquiry in the October 7 Hamas-led attack and ensuing war.
The Walla news outlet cited sources close to Netanyahu as saying that he was also planning on firing the military’s Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar. However, this was quickly denied by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Netanyahu’s decision to fire Gallant, a longtime Likud party rival, came amid Israeli military operations against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. It also came as the country is preparing for a possible attack by Iran in response to the October 26 Israeli strikes.
In addition, the decision coincided with the presidential elections in the United States. Gallant has been for long regarded as close to the current administration in Washington.
All in all, the move will solidify Netanyahu’s control over the government and grant him more freedom to expand the war in Gaza, Lebanon and beyond.
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zionist subhumans are falling apart. they have charged gallant with spying for iran. zionist child killers lost to hezbollah and now face a massive iranian attack.
in fact, bibi seems to be very dissatisfied with the course of his “cleansing actions”.
the pawn is falling to protect the king!!!!
it is strange that every country has a “minister of defense”, but no country has a ” minister of attack”.