Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly sacked Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday, citing what the prime minister said was a “crisis of trust” between the two men. Foreign Minister Israel Katz will take over as Israel’s defense chief.
Mr. Gallant, who had forged strong links with the Biden administration, was considered a political rival to Mr. Netanyahu within the Likud Party before he was picked to join the Cabinet in 2022.
National security analysts said the timing of the firing was curious and could pose complications for Israel. It came amid ongoing wars in the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon, along with soaring tensions with regional rival Iran.
“They’re trying to work on a cease-fire in Lebanon and the Iranians might be attacking at any minute,” said Mike Makovsky, president of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, a Washington think tank.
Mr. Netanyahu said he made the move because he could no longer work with one of his Cabinet’s most powerful figures.
“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defense minister,” Mr. Netanyahu’s office said in a statement late on Tuesday. “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 defense minister.”
Mr. Katz steps into a difficult job, working for a prime minister who has long set his own security policy.
“We will work together to advance the security system to victory against our enemies and to achieve the goals of the war: the return of all the abductees as the most important value mission, the destruction of Hamas in Gaza, the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the curbing of Iranian aggression, and the return of the residents of the north and south to their homes in safety,” Mr. Katz said after his new position was announced.
Mr. Katz doesn’t have a military background, which means the prime minister could effectively serve as his own defense minister, Mr. Makovsky from JINSA noted.
“It seems like it creates some instability a bit, given everything that’s going on with Iran and Hezbollah,” he said. “But, obviously, Prime Minister Netanyahu is very experienced in these things.”
Mr. Makovsky said he wouldn’t be surprised to see other top-level figures being shown the door at the Ministry of Defense, including Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff.
Mr. Gallant and Gen. Halevi were in charge of Israel’s defense establishment when Hamas launched the Oct. 7, 2023, rampage into southern Israel that resulted in the death of some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and sparked what threatened to escalate into a region-wide war. Mr. Netanyahu himself has faced political pressure to step down over the perceived security failings tied to the Oct. 7 rampage.
“It’s always been understood that at some point, because of the failings of October 7, there’d be a lot of changes in the senior ranks in the national security establishment,” Mr. Makovsky said. “But that really hasn’t happened so much.”
Despite being a leading figure in the Cabinet, Mr. Gallant has had a deeply uneasy relationship with his boss. He publicly criticized Mr. Netanyahu over his approach to the fighting in the Gaza Strip and the failure to reach a cease-fire deal with Hamas that would free dozens of hostages believed to be held by the militant group in Gaza.
In a video statement on Tuesday, Mr. Netanyahu said he could no longer work with his now-former defense chief.
“Although in the first months of the war there was trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defense minister,” the prime minister said.
He accused Mr. Gallant of making statements and taking actions as defense minister that contradicted decisions made by the Cabinet.
“The security of the State of Israel was and will always remain the mission of my life,” Mr. Gallant wrote on X after the firing was announced.
Mr. Netanyahu had tried to fire Mr. Gallant last year because of his criticism of the government’s plans to overhaul Israel’s judiciary. But the prime minister walked that back after public demonstrations broke out throughout Israel.
Although the relationship between Mr. Netanyahu and the White House has occasionally been frosty, Mr. Gallant was seen as someone with whom the Biden administration could work. He regularly spoke with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“Minister Gallant has been a trusted partner as Israel’s minister of defense,” said Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman. “America’s commitment to Israel’s security remains ironclad and the U.S. Department of Defense will continue to work closely with Israel’s next minister of defense.”
Former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said the firing was reminiscent of something that would happen in a “banana republic.”
“Instead of taking care of the security of the country first and putting the welfare of the citizens and soldiers first, the prime minister decided to fire the minister of defense and start a new round of appointments during the fighting, all in order to meet shameful political needs,” Mr. Liberman wrote on X.
Mose Emilio Lavi, whose brother-in-law Omri Miran is one of the Israeli citizens being held by Hamas, said Mr. Gallant was always honest with the families of the hostages. He gave them a sober analysis of the current situation even while vowing to prioritize their release. Mr. Lavi blamed the firing on Israel’s domestic politics.
“Despite his failings, [Mr. Gallant] served as a moderating force in a government filled with reckless, extremist ministers and a prime minister facing three indictments, with associates under investigation, and who hasn’t always prioritized the nation’s interests over his own,” Mr. Lavi wrote on X.
Mr. Netanyahu said almost all of the members of his Cabinet backed his decision to fire Mr. Gallant. He said the acrimony became so public that even Israel’s enemies were aware of it.
“Our enemies took pleasure in it and derived a lot of benefit from it,” Mr. Netanyahu said.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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