Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses defence minister in surprise announcement

Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement.

Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds throughout the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival. A previous attempt to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Netanyahu. The prime minister announced his decision late Tuesday.

"Over the past few months that trust has eroded. In light of this, I decided today to end the term of the defence minister," Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office, adding that he had appointed Foreign Minister Israel Katz to take his place.

Israel's sacked defence minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday that working to ensure the country's security would remain the "mission of his life" after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed him. "The security of the State of Israel was and will always remain the mission of my life," Gallant said on X, minutes after Netanyahu announced his dismissal.

A previous attempt by Netanyahu to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Netanyahu. He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Gallant over the summer but held off until Tuesday's announcement.

Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister who was a junior officer in the military. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who recently rejoined the government, will take the foreign affairs post. Netanyahu has a long history of neutralising his rivals. In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.

“But they kept getting wider. They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy - our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it,” he said.

*With Agency Inputs