Netanyahu Fires Gallant, Appoints Katz in as Defense Minister

Opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid Party) called the firing an ‘act of madness,’ urging his supporters to take to the streets.

By JNS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday, the premier announced on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz will be appointed to Gallant’s position, while Minister-without-Portfolio Gideon Sa’ar has been offered to fill the post of Jerusalem’s top diplomat, according to Netanyahu.

“Unfortunately, over the past months, the trust between me and the minister of defense has been broken. There were significant gaps regarding the management of the [military] campaign, and these gaps were accompanied by statements and actions that contradicted the decisions of the government,” the premier said in a video statement.

“I made repeated efforts to bridge these gaps, but they only widened. These issues even reached the public in an unacceptable manner, and, worse, became known to our enemies, who took pleasure and found advantage in it,” added Netanyahu.

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עדכון חשוב ממני אליכם >> pic.twitter.com/YlpNkaljRb

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) November 5, 2024

In a missive published by Channel 12, the premier told Gallant that his dismissal would be effective 48 hours after the delivery of the letter. “I would like to thank you for your work as defense minister,” Netanyahu wrote. A meeting between the two was said to have lasted three minutes.

The Channel 12 report noted that, as part of the move, Netanyahu and Katz are expected to launch a bid to replace Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and other senior Israeli security officials.

Responding to his firing on X, the defense minister wrote, “The security of the State of Israel was and will always remain my life’s mission.”

Netanyahu and Gallant had been at odds since the 2023 judicial reform crisis. In May of last year, while Netanyahu was abroad, Gallant called a solo press conference and urged the prime minister to halt the judicial reform legislation amid massive street protests throughout Israel.

Some 24 hours later, Netanyahu announced his intention to fire Gallant. Nationwide protests against the government’s now-shelved judicial reform agenda intensified, and the premier reversed his decision.

Six months ago, Netanyahu and other members of his coalition slammed Gallant after he demanded that Jerusalem commit to Palestinian control over the Gaza Strip post-war with Hamas.

In September, after news broke that the Israel Defense Forces found the bodies of six hostages in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza, Gallant demanded that Netanyahu renege on a decision to keep IDF troops on the enclave’s border with Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

Gallant apologized in a bid to stave off his dismissal, Maariv reported later that month, citing conversations among the premier’s associates.

The majority of Likud Party voters lost faith in Gallant and wanted to see him fired, according to a JNS/Direct Polls survey carried out in July.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir praised the move on social media, writing, “I congratulate the prime minister on the decision to fire Gallant. With Gallant, who is still deeply trapped in the [pre-Oct. 7, 2023, security] concept, it is not possible to achieve absolute victory—and the prime minister did well to remove him from his position.”

Meanwhile, opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid Party) called the firing an “act of madness,” urging his supporters to take to the streets.

Following the announcement of Gallant’s dismissal, protesters blocked Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway while lighting bonfires. At the same time, police erected barriers in front of Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence.