Middle East war: Israel: Netanyahu fires Defense Minister Galant

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired Defense Minister Joav Galant. He had lost trust in the minister, according to a statement from the head of government’s office. The successor should be the previous Foreign Minister Israel Katz, whose office will be taken over by the previous Minister without portfolio Gideon Saar.

“Although there was trust in the first months of the war and the work was very fruitful, unfortunately this trust between me and the Defense Minister has broken down in recent months,” Netanyahu wrote. Galant made decisions and made statements that contradicted the Cabinet’s decisions, the Prime Minister added. Most cabinet members agreed with him.

Gallant: “The security of the State of Israel has always been my life’s mission”

Natanyahu described it as his highest duty to maintain Israel’s security and lead the country to complete victory. Gallant also commented. “The security of the State of Israel has always been my life’s mission and always will be,” he emphasized.

Netanyahu had already fired Galant in March last year after he publicly called for a halt to the controversial plans to restructure the judiciary and warned that national security could be seriously damaged. His dismissal was followed by violent protests and a general strike. The head of government suspended the plans at the time, and Galant’s dismissal was later reversed.

Opposition members criticized the dismissal. Opposition leader Jair Lapid described Galant’s dismissal in the middle of the war as an act of madness. He called on Israelis to protest. “Take to the streets,” wrote the leader of the opposition Labor Party, Jair Golan, on Platform X. In Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, hundreds immediately followed the call, as the Times of Israel newspaper reported.

“Politics at the expense of national security,” complained National Union leader Benny Gantz, a former member of Netanyahu’s now-disbanded war cabinet. The right-wing police minister Ben Gvir, however, welcomed the dismissal. With Galant it was “impossible to achieve a complete victory,” he said.

Media: Gallantly on a collision course with the military

Israeli media had reported some time ago that Galant had spoken out against a major military operation in Lebanon, while military circles were in favor of it. Netanyahu also supported the call for a military operation, at least outwardly. Galant, on the other hand, wanted to give more time to diplomatic efforts to reach an agreement with the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and a Gaza ceasefire.

Israel is involved in a tough multi-front war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, which is also allied with Iran. The country is also under attack by militias loyal to Iran in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. The conflict with Iran itself, which has been simmering for decades, has now broken out openly. Israel is currently preparing for a possible counterattack by Iran. The war was triggered by the massacre by Hamas and other extremists from the Gaza Strip in Israel on October 7, 2023, with 1,200 dead and around 250 abducted.