Israeli PM Netanyahu dismisses defence minister Gallant in surprise announcement

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has 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.

The move sparked protests across the country.

Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza.

But Mr Netanyahu had avoided sacking his rival before taking the step as the world’s attention was focused on the US presidential election.

Mr Netanyahu 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,” Mr 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 Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack.

But as the war has dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged.

While Mr Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Mr Gallant had taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for at least a temporary diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the militant group.

In a late-night news conference broadcast on national TV, Mr Gallant said that he had disagreed with Mr Netanyahu over three main issues: the need to end controversial exemptions from the military draft for ultra-Orthodox men, the urgent need for a hostage deal and the need to establish an official commission of inquiry into the political and security failures of October 7, when Hamas militants stormed into Israel and killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.

Israel estimates that about 100 hostages remain in captivity, only about 65 of them still alive.

With military service compulsory for most Jews, Mr Gallant said that drafting the ultra-Orthodox was both an issue of fairness and security at a time when Israel faces so many challenges.

He said a hostage deal was needed “as quickly as possible, when they are still alive” and said there will be “no forgiveness” for neglecting them.

And Mr Gallant said a full investigation into the events of October 7 was the only way to ensure the government would learn the proper lessons.

Mr Netanyahu has rejected calls for an inquiry, saying it should only take place when the war is over.

Mr Gallant ended his statement by honouring the soldiers serving in the army and those who have died in the wars.

He held up his hand and saluted as he walked away from the podium.

Many of the families of the hostages, along with tens of thousands of people who have joined anti-government protests, accuse Mr Netanyahu of scuttling a deal in order to maintain his hold on power.

Mr Netanyahu’s hard-line partners have threatened to bring down the government if he makes concessions to Hamas, raising the risk of early elections at a time when the prime minister’s popularity is low.

“Firing Gallant in the middle of a war is an act of madness,” opposition leader Yair Lapid said on X.

“Netanyahu is selling Israel’s security and the Israeli army soldiers for a disgraceful political survival.”

Israel’s president Isaac Herzog, whose largely ceremonial office is meant to help unify the country, called the dismissal “the last thing Israel needs”.

The grassroots forum representing hostage families said Mr Gallant’s dismissal is “a direct continuation of the ‘efforts’ to torpedo the abductee deal”.

It called on the new defence minister, Israel Katz, to make an “explicit commitment” to end the war and reach a deal to bring home their loved ones.

Within hours, thousands of protesters gathered in central Tel Aviv, blocking the city’s main highway.

The crowd, many holding blue and white Israeli flags and others blowing whistles and pounding drums, gathered around a small bonfire in the middle of the road.

About 1,000 others demonstrated outside Mr Netanyahu’s home in Jerusalem.

Protesters gathered and blocked roads in several other spots across the country.

The dismissal comes at a delicate time.

Israeli troops remain bogged down in Gaza, more than a year after invading the territory, while Israeli ground troops are pressing ahead with a month-old ground invasion against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

Israel has also clashed with Iranian-backed groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, and is facing the possibility of another strike by Iran.

Iran has vowed to avenge an Israeli strike that came in response to an October 1 Iranian missile attack, itself a reprisal for earlier Israeli attacks on Iranian-linked targets.

On Monday, Mr Gallant announced he had sent out thousands of draft notices to young ultra-Orthodox men.

The system of exemptions for religious men has bred widespread resentment among the secular majority, and Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered the government to scrap the system.

Mr Netanyahu, whose governing coalition depends on ultra-Orthodox parties, has not yet implemented the order.

Channel 13 TV said Mr Netanyahu had also taken advantage of the US election, when American attention is focused elsewhere, to dismiss his rival.

The White House on Tuesday declined to comment on the sacking but called Mr Gallant “an important partner on all matters related to the defence of Israel”.

“As close partners, we will continue to work collaboratively with Israel’s next minister of defence,” the White House National Security Council said.

Mr Gallant, a former general with a gruff, no-nonsense demeanour, has emerged as the most popular figure with the public in Israel’s wartime government.

He has worn a simple, black shirt throughout the war in a sign of sorrow over the October 7 attack and developed a strong relationship with his US counterpart, defence secretary Lloyd Austin.

A previous attempt by Mr Netanyahu to sack Mr Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Mr Netanyahu.

He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Mr Gallant over the summer but held off until Tuesday’s announcement.

Mr Katz, his replacement, currently serves as foreign minister and is a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran cabinet minister.

Mr Katz thanked Mr Netanyahu and pledged to lead the security establishment to victory in the wars against Israel’s enemies.

Mr Katz, 69, was a junior officer in the military decades ago and has little military experience, though he has been a key member of Mr Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet over the years.

Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who rejoined the government in September, will take the foreign affairs post.

Mr Netanyahu has a long history of neutralising his rivals.

In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Mr Gallant.

“But they kept getting wider. 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,” he said.