Israeli Defense Minister fired after months of clashes over war

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after months of clashes over domestic politics and Israel’s war efforts.

In a recorded statement Tuesday evening, Netanyahu said that “trust between me and the minister of defense has cracked.”

Israel Katz, currently the foreign minister, will become defense minister. The prime minister’s office said that Gideon Sa’ar will replace Katz as foreign minister. Neither has extensive military experience, though Katz has served in the cabinet throughout the war, reported CNN.

The move came as voters in the United States, Israel’s most important ally, voted for their next president. Gallant is a close interlocutor for the US administration, and has been said to have daily conversations with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The reshuffle happened at a crucial moment for Israel, which is fighting bloody wars in Gaza and Lebanon while awaiting a potential retaliatory attack from Iran.

Gallant responded to the decision shortly after it was made public, posting on X that the “security of Israel has been and will always be my lifelong mission.” In a televised statement, he said his dismissal was the result of a dispute over three things: the issue of ultra-Orthodox military service, the abandonment of hostages in Gaza, and the need for an official inquiry into Hamas’ October 7 attack.

“There isn’t and won’t be forgiveness for abandoning the hostages,” he said. “This will be a ‘mark of Cain’ that the Israeli society bears, as well as those leading through this wrong path.”

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Netanyahu said he had “made many attempts” to bridge differences with Gallant, but that they “kept widening” and “came to the public’s knowledge in an unacceptable manner.” He continued: “Worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy – our enemies enjoyed it and greatly benefited from it.”

Israel’s political class has long speculated that Netanyahu would fire Gallant and replace him with a political ally to shore up his domestic power. Netanyahu has struggled to maintain a hold over his fragile, right-wing governing coalition and its muddle of competing interests, whose collapse could spell the end of his leadership.

Following news of the firing, US officials reiterated their partnership with Israel. “Minister Gallant has been a trusted partner as Israel’s Minister of Defense,” Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement.

“America’s commitment to Israel’s security remains ironclad and the US Department of Defense will continue to work closely with Israel’s next Minister of Defense.”