Tensions boiled over Saturday night during a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and key aides, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant storming out of the room amid deepening disagreements at the highest levels of government in Jerusalem, Israeli media reported.
The clash between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant came as Israel marked the 100th day of its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which began after the Palestinian militant group launched a terrorist assault on Israel on Oct. 7. Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant have been key partners in Israel’s “war Cabinet” formed immediately after that attack and charged with overseeing the military campaign in Gaza.
But the two men now appear at odds. The Times of Israel reported that Mr. Gallant stormed out of a Saturday night meeting with Mr. Netanyahu after being informed that his top aides would not be allowed to attend the session. Mr. Netanyahu, meanwhile, brought multiple assistants with him to the meeting, the Times of Israel reported.
Mr. Gallant reportedly rejoined the meeting about an hour later. But both he and fellow war Cabinet member Benny Gantz, a former defense minister and political rival of Mr. Netanyahu’s, were not invited to a press conference the prime minister gave Saturday evening, according to Israeli media.
Israeli lawmakers cast the rift between war cabinet members as immature and dangerous. Tally Gotliv, a member of Israel’s Knesset and of Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party, took aim at the government in a post on X.
“How can you trust a limited cabinet that behaves like children in kindergarten?” she wrote. “Isn’t there one responsible adult who will call the people to order?
“The minister of defense can’t enter with his assistant who serves as his right hand?” Ms. Gotliv said. “Little children is what you are … None of the cabinet members has the right to broadcast a message of disunity. The circus broadcast of indescribable ego games hurts our soldiers who demand the leadership and rightfully so to be strong and united.”
Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant have appeared together in public frequently throughout Israel’s war in Gaza, as the prime minister and top officials sought to project a unified front in the fight against Hamas. But the two men share a long history that has sometimes been rocky.
Last March, Mr. Netanyahu fired Mr. Gallant after Mr. Gallant had publicly questioned the pace of the prime minister’s controversial judicial reform push. Mr. Netanyahu reversed that decision just weeks later after heavy public criticism of the firing.
Amid the political drama in Jerusalem, Mr. Netanyahu spoke Saturday night. He projected his trademark defiance and took aim at Iran and its allies in the region, and at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, which last week held hearings on charges that Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.
“No one will stop us, not The Hague, not the axis of evil and not anyone else,” Mr. Netanyahu said.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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