Protests and violence erupted in cities across Israel following news that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had fired Defense Minister Yoav Galant.
In Tel Aviv, crowds blocked traffic and water cannons were fired at demonstrators who set fires, and similar violence was reported in Jerusalem, Haifa, Caesarea and other cities.
Demonstrators called the prime minister a “traitor” and demanded “democracy or revolution.”
In a statement posted to his X account, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited a “crisis of trust” with Gallant and claimed he had “helped the enemy.”
Gallant, who is notorious for comparing Palestinians to “human animals,” said in a televised news conference that his dismissal was due to three factors, none of which had anything to do with the trust issues mentioned by the prime minister. Ta.
Mr. Gallant cited his wartime positions, including supporting the expansion of military recruitment to religious students and supporting the creation of an official commission of inquiry into the security failures that led to the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. , and said he was fired because of his duties. An armistice agreement calling for the return of prisoners taken that day was upheld.
Regarding this last issue, which dominates Israeli media coverage of the Gaza war, Gallant said: “There is and will never be any restitution for abandoning prisoners.”
“Mr. Gallant spoke very well,” said Mitchell Barak, a Jerusalem-based pollster and former political aide.
“Furthermore, all three issues he has chosen are very popular among the public. We do not know how this will be received on the streets, but it could lead to major changes in the government’s future direction. ” he told Al Jazeera.
“Replacing defense ministers during wartime is also unprecedented and potentially dangerous,” Barak added.
But given the current focus on the US election, “the shooting has lost some of its impact locally and around the world.”
history of hostilities
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant have had an uneasy alliance since before the current war in Gaza.
In the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel, 1,139 people were killed and about 250 were taken prisoner. Since then, at least 43,391 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s massacre in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu first tried to fire Gallant in March last year, citing public opposition to his attempts to insulate Israel’s controversial government from judicial oversight.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reversed his decision and reinstated Gallant a month later after growing public outcry.
Their relationship remained unstable during the war.
Both men share the prospect that they could be subject to warrants from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for potential war crimes.
However, the two countries are clashing over potential postwar strategies and arguing over priorities. Mr Gallant supports a cease-fire agreement aimed at the return of Israeli prisoners of war, while Mr Netanyahu insists on a “total victory”.
In August, Prime Minister Gallant reportedly dismissed Netanyahu’s military ambitions in Gaza as “nonsense,” and the prime minister in turn accused the defense minister of adopting “anti-Israel rhetoric.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in September that Israeli control of the Philadelphia Corridor, the strip of land separating Gaza and Egypt, should take precedence over a cease-fire drafted by the United States.
Prime Minister Gallant reportedly told Cabinet colleagues that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s desire to preserve the Philadelphia Corridor was part of an ongoing attempt to prolong the war for the sake of the prime minister’s political career. Several observers deemed this a “moral disgrace,” he said.
However, after European newspapers published classified documents allegedly leaked from the Israeli military, suggesting that Hamas intends to secretly smuggle many of the prisoners and their leaders across the Corridor into Egypt. Mr. Gallant’s ceasefire claims were overturned within days.
The documents, which are believed to be Hamas military strategy documents, are suspected to have been falsified, and Netantaf’s spokesperson was among those arrested.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing by members of his office.
endless war
“I don’t think Gallant’s removal will result in any major changes in the way the war is waged,” Israeli analyst Nimrod Flaschenberg said. “So it is inconceivable that Israel will withdraw from Lebanon and Gaza in the short term.
“However, Mr. Gallant’s removal means we have lost one of the loudest voices within the government calling for a ceasefire. It’s clearly bad news for the hostages, but especially for the people of Gaza, who are facing an endless war. “There is,” he said.
In addition to his standoff with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over a possible ceasefire, Mr. Gallant is also at odds with the prime minister’s hardliners, including far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and right-wing agitator Itamar Ben Gvir, who is in charge of Israel’s national security. He also fought against his ministerial allies. .
Ben Gvir congratulated Prime Minister Netanyahu on firing Gallant in a post on X.
מביך את ראש הממשלה על ההחלטה לפטר את גלנט. No, no, no, no, no, I don’t know.
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) November 5, 2024
Translation: I congratulate the Prime Minister on his decision to dismiss Mr Gallant. With Mr. Gallant still deeply entrenched in this concept, it is impossible for him to achieve absolute victory. And the Prime Minister did a good job of removing him from the position.
“This is a victory for Smotrich and Ben Gvir and other hawks in the cabinet, including Gideon Saar,” Flaschenberg said, referring to the right-wing former critic of Netanyahu who joined the government in late September. , said:
They deemed there was a “self-deception” in Gallant and many in the military believing that negotiations with Hamas were possible.
Several experts interviewed by Al Jazeera pointed to the timing of Gallant’s dismissal in light of the U.S. presidential election.
“The Israeli military, to which Gallant belongs, has very close ties to the United States,” political analyst Ori Goldberg said from Tel Aviv.
“That’s where they train and where they get their weapons. Mr. Gallant’s voice in the cabinet was essentially the voice of the United States,” he said.
“Gallant’s successor, Israel Katz, has no such history. He is loyal to one man, and that is Netanyahu.”
