Protests across Israel after Netanyahu sacks popular defence minister

Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed his popular defence minister in a surprise announcement while the nation is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region. The move sparked protests across the country.

Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival as the world’s attention was focused on the US presidential election.

Netanyahu cited “significant gaps” and a “crisis of trust” between the two men in his announcement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in 2023.Credit: AP

“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defence minister,” Netanyahu said. “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 defence minister.”

In the early days of the war, Israel’s leadership presented a unified front as it responded to Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack. But as the war has dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged.

While Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant has taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for at least a temporary diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the militant group.

Many of the hostages’ families, along with tens of thousands of people who have joined anti-government protests, accuse Netanyahu of scuttling a deal to maintain his hold on power. Netanyahu’s hard-line partners have threatened to bring down the government if he makes concessions to Hamas, raising the risk of early elections at a time when his popularity is low.

Israelis light a bonfire during a protest after Yoav Gallant was sacked as defence minister.Credit: AP

The grassroots forum representing hostage families said Gallant’s dismissal was “a direct continuation of the ‘efforts’ to torpedo the abductee deal”. It called on the new defence minister, Israel Katz, to make an “explicit commitment” to end the war and reach a deal to bring home their loved ones.

Within hours, hundreds of protesters had gathered in central Tel Aviv, blocking the city’s main highway. The crowd, many holding blue and white Israeli flags and others blowing whistles and pounding drums, gathered around a small bonfire in the road. About 1000 others demonstrated outside Netanyahu’s home in Jerusalem. Protesters gathered and blocked roads in several other spots across the country.

The dismissal comes at a delicate time. Israeli troops remain bogged down in Gaza over a year after invading the territory, while pressing ahead with a month-old ground invasion against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

Israel also has clashed with Iranian-backed groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, and is facing the possibility of another strike by Iran. Iran has vowed to avenge an Israeli attack that came in response to an October 1 Iranian missile strike, itself a reprisal for earlier Israeli attacks on Iranian-linked targets.

Israel’s Channel 12 TV reported Netanyahu’s decision was prompted by Gallant’s decision this week to send out thousands of draft notices to young ultra-Orthodox men.

Under a longstanding and controversial arrangement, religious men are exempt from military service, which is compulsory for most Jews. This system has bred widespread resentment among the secular majority, and Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered the government to scrap the system. Netanyahu, whose governing coalition depends on ultra-Orthodox parties, has not yet implemented the order.

Channel 13 TV reported Netanyahu had also taken advantage of the US election, when American attention is focused elsewhere, to dismiss his rival.

Gallant, a former general who has gained public respect with a gruff, no-nonsense personality, said in a statement: “The security of the state of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life’s mission.”

People protest the Israeli PM’s decision to sack his popular defence minister in Tel Aviv.Credit: AP

Gallant has worn a simple, black buttoned shirt throughout the war in a sign of sorrow over the October 7 attack and developed a strong relationship with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Netanyahu’s previous attempt to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests. He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Gallant over the northern summer but held off until now.

Katz, his replacement, currently serves as foreign minister and is a long-time Netanyahu loyalist and veteran cabinet minister.

Katz, 69, was a junior officer in the military decades ago and has little military experience, though he has been a key member of Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet over the years. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who rejoined the government in September, will take the foreign affairs post.

Netanyahu has a long history of neutralising his rivals. In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.

AP

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