On Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Netanyahu informed Defense Minister Yoav Galant that he had decided to remove him from his position as Minister of Defense, where he had been serving for nearly two years. Galant is expected to be replaced by Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz, a Knesset member since the end of the 20th century, who previously served as Minister of Finance and Minister of Transportation for nearly a decade. Gideon Sa’ar, the new member of the coalition led by Netanyahu, who previously served as Minister of Justice and Minister of Education, is expected to replace Katz as Foreign Minister.
The move comes against the background of repeated disagreements between Netanyahu and Galant, who have received a great deal of public attention, on substantive issues regarding the conduct of the war: Even in the matter of a hostage deal, Galant was more open than Netanyahu; but more importantly, in the matter of recruiting the ultra-Orthodox – an issue in which Galant was almost uncompromising, in his desire to recruit the ultra-Orthodox since the High Court of Justice ruling six months ago. Just yesterday, Galant announced his decision to issue draft orders for 7K ultra-Orthodox, and last week he expressed opposition to the “meonot Law” designed to benefit the population of non-serving. Katz is expected to be more comfortable working with Netanyahu, and more acceptable to the ultra-Orthodox, which, together with Gideon Sa’ar’s apointment, will contribute to the stability of the coalition.
This is not the first time Netanyahu has fired Galant – a similar move was carried out in March last year, when Galant expressed opposition to the legal reform for security reasons. Back then, the dismissal did not take effect before the government met with broad civil resistance, which was expressed in huge demonstrations, road closures, and a total strike by the workers union – things that caused Netanyahu to withdraw. This time, too, crowds took to the streets after Netanyahu’s announcement, blocking roads and intersections across the country; however, this protest seems to have insufficient momentum to change the final outcome.
Galant will return to his position as a Likud MK after a particularly turbulent term as Minister of Defense. In his historical balance, after a long service as an IDF commander and commander of the Southern Command in particular, the October 7 disaster has now been added, as well as the management of the war over the past year. “The security of the State of Israel has always been and will always remain my life’s mission,” Galant concluded his farewell address, saluting all those who fell and served under his term.
