Yoav Gallant: why Israel fired its defense minister

This Tuesday, November 5 the prime minister of Israel , Benjamin Netanyahu fired his Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant .

The decision occurs in a scenario in which Israeli forces continue to fight in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon .

We must not forget that the war broke out on October 7, 2023, when the activist group Hamas led a direct offensive against Israeli territory .

This episode left 1,200 dead and 250 hostages. of whom nearly a hundred remain captive.

Following this situation, Israeli troops They responded with continued attacks in the Gaza Strip, which left nearly 42,300 people dead. as reported by local health authorities.

The gradual increase in tensions in the Middle East has led Israel to clashes with Hamas in Gaza, with Hezbollah in Lebanon, with Iran with the Houthis in Yemen and with the Shiite militias of Syria and Iraq .

Cross attacks and constant warnings of retaliation threaten to spark wider conflict in the region.

The announcement is made after Netanyahu and then-Minister Gallant faced series of disagreements over war in recent months.

He said that the dismissal of the head of Defense occurred due to a breakdown in trust and differences in positions between the two .

Gallant publicly questioned Netanyahu’s failure to define a long-term plan for the Gaza Strip.

He also expressed his criticized for not prioritizing a deal on the release of Israeli hostages who remain captive.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a statement to which the Wall Street Journal : “Over the past few months, This trust between me and the Minister of Defense has started to crack “.

Shortly after the announcement, Gallant said on X (formerly Twitter): “The security of Israel has been and always will be my life’s mission” .

After the news was announced, Thousands of protesters took to the streets to gather in front of Tel Aviv’s military headquarters and express their discontent. with measurement.

Analysts consulted by the aforementioned media outlets stated that Internal politics also influenced Gallant’s firing .

The current former minister and Netanyahu They are members of the conservative Likud party. .

However, The ruling coalition needs the support of its ultra-Orthodox political allies, who seek to reverse certain recruitment measures including religious scholars.

Faced with this situation, Gallant refused to budge, arguing that the Israeli army faces a personnel shortage. in a war scenario.

For Netanyahu, Votes from this sector are essential to approve the budget of Israel by 2025.

According to the law, this must be approved in the coming months or the prime minister could face early elections, they explained.

Se Gallant raised this point during a press conference made after the announcement of his dismissal.

In the present case, he stated that he thought he had been removed from office for his opposition to a law exempting the ultra-Orthodox from military service .

“Everyone must serve in the Israel Defense Forces” said.

At the same time, he commented that Netanyahu informed him of his decision to fire him just minutes before announcing it. publicly.

He mentioned that Two other factors were his demand for a thorough security investigation into the October 7, 2023 episode and the pressure he exerted to reach an agreement. to free the hostages.

Netanyahu said the person tasked with replacing Gallant as head of defense will be Israel Katz, former foreign minister .

On the other hand, this latter wallet was offered to Gideon Sa’ar who previously headed none in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Gallant played an important role in relations with the United States and expressed support for the Joe Biden administration’s efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.

A US official told the aforementioned newspaper that “the surprising decision to fire Defense Minister Gallant This is worrying, especially in the midst of two wars and as Israel prepares to defend itself against a possible Iranian attack. “.

“We ask ourselves real questions about the reasons of Gallant’s dismissal and on what motivates the decision,” he added.

Speaking of a possible Iranian offensive, referred to recent threats of retaliation from Iran after Israel carried out airstrikes against military targets on its territory on October 26.

This measure was presented as a response to the October 1 Iranian attack, which included approximately 180 ballistic missiles which, for the most part, were intercepted by Israeli defense systems.

In turn, The October 1 episode was Iran’s response to the ground operations launched by Israel in Lebanon and the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah. killed on October 27 in a bombardment of positions in Beirut.

Tensions between the White House and Netanyahu’s office have also increased in recent months. due to the Prime Minister’s hard line in the negotiations and a series of military actions carried out without prior warning to Washington.

Throughout the war, Gallant played a fundamental role in maintaining relations with the North American country .

The political director of Israeli political forum (a think tank based in the United States), Michael Koplow, assured Newspaper that “He was the minister the United States trusted most” .

“When it comes to key defense issues, such as coordination between the United States and Israel against Iran, humanitarian issues in Gaza, Netanyahu simply got rid of the key person for this and replaced him with someone who doesn’t have that kind of relationship with the United States. “.

Previously, Netanyahu also fired Gallant in 2023, before war broke out. in Gaza.

It happened when his new government attempted to enact sweeping changes to Israel’s justice system which sparked protests of rejection.

At that time, Gallant publicly urged Netanyahu to wait .

Despite his decision at that time, Netanyahu reinstated him two weeks later after protests and riots were reported.