Middle East conflict: President Herzog: Israel’s security comes first

After the dismissal of Israeli Defense Minister Joav Galant, President Izchak Herzog called for unity. “The last thing the State of Israel needs now is a riot and a break in the middle of war. The security of the State of Israel must come first,” Herzog wrote on the news platform X. “We are in one of the most difficult and challenging times times we have ever seen. Israel’s enemies are just waiting for a sign of weakness, disintegration or division.”

Israel is engaged in a multi-front war against the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip and its allied Shiite militia in Lebanon. The Jewish state also sees itself threatened by its arch-enemy Iran and militias allied with Tehran, for example in Yemen and Iraq. Hamas and Hezbollah also receive significant support from Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Galant on Tuesday. The two men repeatedly disagreed on political and military issues. For example, Galant insisted on conscripting more ultra-Orthodox Jews, which caused problems for Netanyahu with his strict religious coalition partners. The two were also at odds when it came to strategic questions of war and negotiation.

After Galant’s dismissal, numerous people took to the streets in Israel against Netanyahu’s government. At least five people were arrested during the demonstrations in Jerusalem and Haifa, the newspaper “The Times of Israel” reported, citing the police.