In what has been viewed as an Israeli political earthquake 13 months after the heinous October 7 terror assault, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on November 5 after months of disagreements over domestic politics, and even for severe arguments over the execution of the war.
“The trust between me and the minister of defense has cracked,” Netanyahu said in a recorded statement on Tuesday evening.
The current Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, will become defense minister with Gideon Saar coming in to replace Katz as foreign minister. Neither has extensive military experience like Gallant who worked closely with the United States since the start of the war, and according to reports, had daily conversations with his counterpart, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“The security of Israel has long been and will always be my lifelong mission,” Gallant wrote on his Twitter/X page just hours after being fired by Netanyahu. In a televised statement, the ousted defense minister added that his dismissal was the result of a dispute over three points: the issue of Ultra-Orthodox military service, the abandonment of hostages in Gaza, and the need for an official inquiry into Hamas’ October 7 terror assault.
“This isn’t and won’t be forgiveness for abandoning the hostages. This will be a ‘mark of Cain’ that the Israeli society bears, as well as those leading through this wrong path,” said Gallant in a statement.
The prime minister said he “made many attempts to bridge differences with Gallant, though they kept widening [and] came to the public’s knowledge in an unacceptable manner. Worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy. Our enemies enjoyed and greatly benefited from it.”
Coinciding with Netanyahu’s ouster of his defense minister, Israeli police announced that a criminal investigation had been opened over the failures of October 7 – the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. It had been Gallant who repeatedly called for an official inquiry concerning it, which drew the ire of the prime minister. Earlier in the week, a court also revealed that police also arrested a top Netanyahu aide, Eliezer Feldstein, for allegedly leaking classified and fake intelligence to foreign media.
For their part, US officials underscored that “America’s commitment to Israel’s security remains ironclad, and the US Department of Defense will continue to work closely with Israel’s next Minister of Defense.” Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder added, “Minister Gallant [had] been a trusted partner as Israel’s Minister of Defense.”
A headline in The Times of Israel by its editor David Horovitz read, “Netanyahu’s Firing of Gallant Mid-War Is Reckless, Divisive, and Dangerous to Israel.” In the piece, Horovitz wrote, “With Gallant out of the way, Netanyahu considers that his Ultra-Orthodox and far-right partners can be accommodated, his most irritating critic will be gone, and his hold on power will be secure for the foreseeable future.”
Angry protests erupted throughout the country in response to news of Gallant’s firing. At the time of publication, The Times of Israel reported that “five people protesting his decision to oust Gallant were arrested for reopening the Route 1 highway in Jerusalem. In Haifa, police said they arrested two people, including one demonstrator suspected of lighting a bonfire on a road. No reason [was] given for the second arrest.”
In response to the latest round of Israeli political chaos, President Isaac Herzog urged unity.
“One hundred one hostages are still in enemy captivity this evening,” wrote Herzog on Twitter/X. “Thousands of bereaved girls and family members mourn their shattered world. Many reservists bear the burden of protecting the people and the homeland and cry out together with their families for a broad Israeli partnership. Thousands of our brothers are evacuated from their homes for over a year.
“We must not go back towards the abyss!” added Herzog. “Israel’s enemies are only waiting for a sign of weakness, disintegration, or division within us.”
By Jared Feldschreiber
