Netanyahu dismisses Defense Minister Yoav Gallant following his call to pause judicial reforms
Gallant tweeted: “The security of the State of Israel has always been and will always remain my life’s mission.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant this evening.
On Saturday night, Gallant called to pause Israel’s ongoing judicial reform legislation in order to engage in negotiations over a compromise.
During Gallant's public address, he expressed concern over the country's security, given that a considerable number of IDF reservists have threatened to refuse to report to duty in recent days.
The defense minister called on Netanyahu to put an immediate halt to the judicial reforms, which have been ongoing, despite almost daily protests throughout the country.
Last night’s protest was estimated at over 220,000 people in Tel Aviv alone.
Gallant said that “the breach within the nation has penetrated deep into the IDF and defense establishment – a clear and major threat to the security of Israel which he would not allow.”
As a former commander of the IDF's Southern Command, Gallant understands the complexity of Israel's security situation and the risks the country would face with a lack of reserve soldiers.
A leading candidate to replace Gallant is Avi Dichter, former minister of Internal Security and Shin Bet director, who has been serving as the minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
While Dichter has also expressed similar concerns as Gallant, he has committed to voting in favor of the Judicial Selection Committee bill when it is brought up for a vote this week in the Knesset.
One commentator reacted to Gallant's firing by saying, “All Gallant did was to express his concern over how this is affecting the country, and did not deserve to get fired just for doing his job.”
Following his dismissal, Gallant tweeted: “The security of the State of Israel has always been and will always remain my life’s mission.”
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
