Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed firing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant due to the escalating security situation and took steps to show that tensions between them had subsided.
“The prime minister is postponing his decision until another occasion mainly because of the security developments in the area,” a source close to Netanyahu said.
The deal ended a week of speculation as to when Netanyahu would follow through on his announcement last Sunday that he had fired Gallant for calling for a halt to the government’s judicial overhaul program for security reasons.
Although Netanyahu publicly fired Gallant, he did not follow through with the necessary authorized formal letter, as tensions increased with Tehran, including the IDF shooting down Sunday night of an Iranian drone that entered Israeli airspace from Syria.
Initially, Netanyahu had attempted to wrest an apology from Gallant or win his agreement to relinquish his Knesset seat in exchange for remaining on the job.
When neither was successful he delayed the matter, as Gallant continued to fill the role, even attending Sunday’s cabinet meeting and visiting soldiers at their bases.
On Monday, in an attempt to smooth over the bitter dispute, the two men appeared together at two pre-Passover events to toast soldiers.
“The most important thing is to leave politics at the base’s gate to unite to protect eternal Israel. That’s what we’re here for,” Netanyahu said.
In the past few weeks Netanyahu has spoken of the need for unity to combat the growing phenomenon of reservists refusing to serve as a protest against the judicial overhaul plan, which they fear will transform Israel from a democracy into a dictatorship.
A difference of opinion over how to handle the soldiers’ protest led Netanyahu to fire Gallant.
He had intended Gallant’s dismissal to warn those in his government who might want to oppose the judicial overhaul program; but popular support swung behind Gallant, and the US weighed in on the defense minister’s behalf.
It’s important, he said on Monday, to have a “command hierarchy at the top.”
Netanyahu spoke in support of the reform, which he believes will strengthen Israeli democracy, stating that a consensus dialogue was taking place that he hoped would lead to a “broad agreement.”
He also issued a warning to Israel’s enemies not to mistake its internal turmoil over the judicial overhaul process for weakness.
“It doesn’t matter what the internal debate will be,” Israel will fight its enemies both within and outside the country’s borders.
Gallant said, “The threats against us are large threats, they come from one source – Iran, which sends its octopus arms to Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Judea and Samaria, and even tries to recruit citizens from within Israeli territory.
“We need to present a united front to the enemy” particularly at this time “when we see efforts to harm us from arenas that have not been active in recent years,” Gallant said.
Israeli opposition lawmakers urge Netanyahu to rescind firing Gallant
Former defense minister Benny Gantz (National Unity) said that a delay was not enough and urged Netanyahu to rescind the decision altogether.
“Precisely because of the security challenges, Netanyahu must immediately announce the decision to retain Gallant in his post. The security of Israel is not an audition for a play or a movie. Israeli citizens need a permanent defense minister. Not later, now,” he tweeted.
“Precisely because of the security challenges, Netanyahu must immediately announce the decision to retain Gallant in his post. The security of Israel is not an audition for a play or a movie. Israeli citizens need a permanent defense minister. Not later, now.”
Benny Gantz
Former defense minister Avigdor Liberman tweeted, “There is nothing more harmful to the security system than the instability and uncertainty regarding the identity of a permanent security minister who is entirely focused solely on security matters.
“Netanyahu, these games of honor are at the expense of the security of the citizens of Israel,” Liberman said.