Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Tuesday that he fired Yoav Gallant as defense minister and named Israel Katz, the Israeli foreign minister, as the new head of the Defense Ministry.
The announcement came hours before polls started closing in the United States on Election Day—one of the most dominant international news stories during a U.S. presidential election. Netanyahu stated that Gideon Sa'ar, minister without portfolio, would replace Katz as Jerusalem's top diplomat.
"In the midst of war, more than ever, complete trust is required between the prime minister and the defense minister," Netanyahu stated. "Unfortunately, even though such trust was present during the first months of the military campaign, and we had a very productive cooperation, during the past several months this trust between myself and the defense minister has begun to crack."
Gallant and Netanyahu "had substantial disagreements on the management of the military campaign, disagreements which were accompanied by public statements and actions that contravened the decisions of the government and the security cabinet," the Israeli premier stated.
"I have made multiple attempts to resolve these disagreements, but they became increasingly wider," Netanyahu said. "They were also brought to the knowledge of the public in an inappropriate manner, and what is even worse, they have reached the knowledge of the enemy; our enemies have taken great delight in these disagreements and have derived much benefit from them."
A senior Israeli official close to Netanyahu told JNS that “with Gallant gone, the leaks from the cabinet will most probably subside and the achievements will increase.”
Netanyahu stated that Katz "has proven his abilities and has made a contribution to national security as minister of foreign affairs, minister of finance, minister of intelligence for five years and, equally important, as a long-standing member of the state security cabinet."
"Israel Katz brings to the table an impressive combination of rich experience and executive capabilities," Netanyahu said. "He is known as a man of action who combines responsibility with reserved decisiveness, all important qualities for driving a military campaign."
Netanyahu added that naming Katz and Sa'ar to fill new roles "will reinforce the government and the security cabinet, transforming them into bodies that work cooperatively and harmoniously for the security of the State of Israel, for the citizens of Israel and for our victory."
In a missive published by Channel 12, the premier told Gallant that his dismissal would be effective 48 hours after the delivery of the letter. "I would like to thank you for your work as defense minister," Netanyahu wrote. A meeting between the two was said to have lasted three minutes.
The Channel 12 report noted that, as part of the move, Netanyahu and Katz are expected to launch a bid to replace Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and other senior Israeli security officials.
Netanyahu stated in press release that "the reports to the effect that the prime minister intends to dismiss senior officials in the security services are incorrect and are designed to sow discord and rifts."
"This is also the case with the mendacious reports that the ultra-Orthodox ministers were in on the matter," he said. "They learned about it from the media."
Responding to his firing, Gallant wrote in Hebrew that "the security of the State of Israel was and will always remain my life's mission."
Katz thanked Netanyahu for entrusting him with the responsibility and vowed to lead the Israeli military "towards victory against our enemies and to achieve the goals of the war: The return of all the hostages as the most important mission, the destruction of Hamas in Gaza, the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the curbing of Iranian aggression and the safe return of the residents of the north and south to their homes."
Netanyahu and Gallant had been at odds since the 2023 judicial reform crisis. In May 2023, while Netanyahu was abroad, Gallant called a solo press conference and urged the prime minister to halt the judicial reform legislation amid massive street protests throughout Israel.
Some 24 hours later, Netanyahu announced his intention to fire Gallant. Nationwide protests against the government’s now-shelved judicial reform agenda intensified, and the premier reversed his decision.
Six months ago, Netanyahu and other members of his coalition slammed Gallant after he demanded that Jerusalem commit to Palestinian control over the Gaza Strip post-war with Hamas.
In September, after news broke that the Israel Defense Forces found the bodies of six hostages in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza, Gallant demanded that Netanyahu renege on a decision to keep IDF troops on the enclave’s border with Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.
Gallant apologized in a bid to stave off his dismissal, Maariv reported later that month, citing conversations among the premier's associates.
The majority of Likud Party voters lost faith in Gallant and wanted to see him fired, according to a JNS/Direct Polls survey carried out in July.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir praised Tuesday's move, writing on social media in Hebrew that "I congratulate the prime minister on the decision to fire Gallant."
He added that Gallant is still "deeply trapped" in the pre-Oct. 7, 2023 security concept that "it is not possible to achieve absolute victory." Netanyahu "did well to remove him from his position," Ben-Gvir wrote.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid, of the Yesh Atid Party, called the firing an "act of madness," urging his supporters to take to the streets.
Following the announcement of Gallant's dismissal, protesters blocked Tel Aviv's Ayalon Highway and lit bonfires. Police erected barriers in front of Netanyahu's Jerusalem residence.
"Israel Police officers are deployed in large forces at the protest hotspots throughout the country with the purpose of maintaining security and public order, as well as to enable a balance between the freedom to legitimately protest and the freedom of movement," police stated.
"We call on the protesting public to obey instructions of police officers at the scene and to behave in a way that will not endanger the safety of the protestors, the police officers and road users," the statement added.
