Netanyahu’s Firing of Israel Defense Chief Gallant Draws Ire and Praise
(Bloomberg) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s shock firing of his defense chief on Tuesday night removed a key cabinet critic, but it also deepened anger among opponents over his handling of the country’s multi-front conflict.
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In Yoav Gallant, Netanyahu had a defense minister who challenged many of his plans for the war against Hamas in Gaza and threatened the stability of his fragile coalition. Netanyahu is betting he can conduct military policy with fewer obstacles by picking Israel Katz, formerly the foreign minister, to replace Gallant. It might even be enough to hold his government, the most right-wing Israel’s ever had, together until the next planned election in 2026.
The upshot is that Israel could continue pursuing “total victory” against Hamas and defying pressure from the White House, Europeans and Arab states to accept a deal for a cease-fire and release of the roughly 100 hostages held by the Iran-backed militant group.
Netanyahu got a boost hours later when it became clear Donald Trump had defeated Kamala Harris in the US presidential election. The premier was quick to praise the former president, congratulating him on “history’s greatest comeback.” Some of Netanyahu’s ministers openly backed Trump, believing he would be less critical than President Joe Biden about the deaths of Palestinian civilians and give firmer support for Israel’s operations in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as against Iran.
The prime minister also phoned Trump, one of the first world leaders to do so.
“The conversation was warm and cordial,” according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office on Wednesday. “The two agreed to work together for Israel’s security. The two also discussed the Iranian threat.”
Announcing his move against Gallant, Netanyahu said the trust between them had broken down. In late August, Gallant was the only cabinet member to vote against maintaining a military presence in Gaza’s so-called Philadelphi corridor. Netanyahu’s insistence that troops remain in the strip of land running along the Gaza-Egypt border was a key reason truce talks with Hamas stalled.
Gallant, who spoke regularly with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and helped Israel and the US weather tensions between Netanyahu and Biden, cited three reasons for being fired. One of them, he said, was to do with the conduct of the war in Gaza.
The defense minister long said the best way to get the hostages released was to accept a phased cease-fire, even it it meant withdrawing from parts of Gaza.
“It requires painful concessions, which Israel can carry and the IDF can bear,” Gallant said on Tuesday, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.
Hardliners in the cabinet, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, disagreed with Gallant and were happy with Netanyahu’s decision to oust him.
Another reason was growing divisions over a recent Supreme Court ruling that overturned Orthodox Jews’ exemption from military conscription. Gallant said the ruling had to be implemented, while Netanyahu and his Orthodox political allies wanted to bypass it.
In recent days, Netanyahu failed to introduce a policy allowing Orthodox men, known as Haredim, to avoid economic sanctions if they refused to serve. Haredi parties, critical members of the coalition, have threatened to topple the government if that doesn’t happen.
Gallant, as well as many secular politicians and even the central bank governor, say Israel needs to draft more Haredim to lessen the burden on other communities and the economy as the military grows to cope with increased external threats.
The third point of contention between Gallant and Netanyahu was over the former’s call for a commission of inquiry “to uncover the truth and learn lessons” about Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza, triggering the war. It was the worst day in Israel’s history in terms of the number of Israelis killed.
Netanyahu says a state inquiry would be a distraction while the conflict continues. His critics say he’s simply trying to avoid a report that would showcase his failings in the run up to Oct. 7 and on the day itself.
For all that Gallant’s departure may stabilize Netanyahu’s coalition, it weakens him in other ways. Opponents — including a business forum that includes chief executives of some of Israel’s biggest companies — cried foul and said he was prioritizing his political survival over the nation’s security and the hostages. Protesters took to the streets in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, though they couldn’t persuade Netanyahu to change his mind.
“Lawlessness,” read a headline Wednesday in Yediot Aharonot, Israel’s largest newspaper. “This is how democracy dies,” wrote the paper’s main columnist, Nahum Barnea.
(Updates with more details.)
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