Tel Aviv [Israel], November 6 : Hours after being sacked as Israel's defence minister, Yoav Gallant in his address to people of the country, expressed gratefulness for the country's security forces and lamenting the policies of the Netanyahu government.
Disapproving of Netanyahu's policy regarding the Hamas war, Gallant warned that Israel would forever bear "the mark of Cain" if it abandons the hostages held in Gaza,
The former defence minister said his dismissal stemmed from disagreements on three issues: ultra-Orthodox military conscription, a hostage deal with Hamas, and a state commission of inquiry into the government's failures related to the October 7 attack that sparked the ongoing Gaza war, as reported by Times of Israel.
Netanyahu fired Gallant on Tuesday evening, citing a "lack of trust" between the two, which the prime minister claimed helped Israel's enemies.
Gallant, a longtime rival from within the Likud Party, will be replaced by Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz. Minister without Portfolio Gideon Sa'ar will replace Katz, as per Times of Israel.
Gallant's sacking has drawn massive protests on the streets of Israel, as thousands gathered to disapprove of Netanyahu's decision.
The protestors said the move is "very bad" for Israel's security and the move in effect, is moving Israel towards the state of dictatorship, TPS reported.
In Tel Aviv, one protester told The Press Service of Israel, "What Netanyahu did firing the Defence Minister is very bad for Israel's security. It only shows that he completely lost any consideration of what is good for Israel. He's only thinking about himself, what works for his own political good. And this is something which is extremely dangerous. And if we don't go out in the streets now, we're going to end up in a dictatorship."
Another demonstrator told TPS-IL, "The lawlessness of Netanyahu taking on this authority in the middle of the war and with Iran that could bomb at any moment, and he does it to please the haredim and ensure that he doesn't have a trial." He was referring to divisions over mandatory military service for Israel's Haredi, or Orthodox Jewish commmunity.
"I came out to save the country, because dictatorship is on the way," said another protester "The firing of the Minister of Defense is a moral shame. I have three children in the army."
During his speech, Gallant said that his priorities "have remained constant and clear throughout nearly fifty years of public service, [and] are as follows: The State of Israel; the IDF and the security establishment, and only afterwards, everything else, including my personal future."
He further lauded "a series of impressive achievements, unprecedented in the history of the State of Israel," which he attributed to "the IDF, the Shin Bet, the Mossad, and the entire security system," as reported by Times of Israel.
Notably, the Likud party lawmaker repeatedly clashed with Netanyahu over the handling of the war, and had a stormy relationship with the prime minister before Hamas's attack last year, Times of Israel reported.
In 2023, Gallant spoke out against the Netanyahu government's proposed overhaul of the judicial system, warning that the national rift over the issue had come to constitute a tangible security threat. Following this, PM Netanyahu fired him, but had to backtrack two weeks later amid public outcry.
Meanwhile, Israel's Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir lauded Netanyahu's decision to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and said it is not possible to achieve "complete victory" with Gallant, as reported by TPS.
"I congratulate the Prime Minister on the decision to fire Gallant," he tweeted. "With Gallant, who is still deeply trapped in the concept, it is not possible to achieve complete victory [in Gaza] - and the prime minister did well to remove him from his position."
Ben-Gvir is the leader of the right-wing Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Strength) Party in the Knesset.
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