Wrapped in awkward and flimsy excuses about mistrust, the revenge of March 2023 was completed tonight in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent the dismissal letter to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, stood in front of the camera in his office, and announced that trust was fractured and the gaps in war management were vast.
But tonight, these claims sound emptier and more embarrassing than ever, crashing against reality. The war, in its original definition, no longer exists. Gaza has been dismantled, Hamas is on the brink of destruction, Hezbollah’s leadership has been eliminated, and tasks along the northern border are nearly complete.
If there’s a time for the defense establishment to boast about tremendous achievements, it’s now. The war Netanyahu speaks of is no longer. Another battle is taking place before our eyes: the Coalition Peace War. This is the only war Netanyahu is interested in these days, and it’s the war on whose altar he sacrifices a professional defense minister and the entire state. Whatever it costs, so long as he survives.
Before sending Gallant the dismissal letter, Netanyahu announced that he was removing the Housing Bill from the Knesset’s agenda, the disgraceful bill intended to bribe the ultra-Orthodox parties in the absence of a parliamentary majority for the draft law. Publicly humiliated, having been dragged for days by the whims of the ultra-Orthodox, Netanyahu boiled with rage and a desire for revenge. Against someone. Against something. Yoav Gallant was first on the family revenge list — and he paid the price.
He had been marked for some time and was long sacrificed on the altar of coalition expansion with Gideon Sa'ar, who will now be appointed foreign minister in place of Israel Katz. To minimize the political humiliation he suffered in the Knesset, Netanyahu did what he knows best: bigger, elsewhere. An old, well-worn trick — but effective. He now hopes that ministers and Likud Knesset members will be intimidated and align with him. Because someone who fires a defense minister in wartime has no limits, this isn’t extortion by threats; it’s extortion by dismissal.
The Prime Minister is a master politician. His senses are sharp, and his talent for creating an alternative reality to serve his interests is unquestionable. Gallant’s dismissal will occupy the nation in the coming days and weeks. In one fell swoop, with his blood boiling, Netanyahu shifted the agenda, moved the tectonic plates, and reordered the agenda. Gallant pays tonight for his public courage, for his insistence on not surrendering to ultra-Orthodox extortion, and for his unwillingness to cooperate with Netanyahu's strategic paralysis.
The last voice of reason?
Since March 2023, Gallant has become the only political figure capable of shaking Netanyahu, shedding light on the severe damage caused by the governmental overhaul to state security. And now, just a few days ago, he sent a harsh letter to the Prime Minister, warning that the war had lost direction and that our people, our heroic IDF soldiers, are dying for nothing. Add to this the fact that Gallant is much more popular than Netanyahu in polls, and it all falls into place.
On March 29, 2023, hundreds of thousands took to the streets to halt Gallant’s dismissal. This time, it seems that the energy needed to stop this deceitful political move is lacking. The people are exhausted; many are still in reserves, and it’s doubtful if there is the strength required to incite a rebellion.
Netanyahu prepared these dismissals well. Mentally, most Israelis are already prepared for someone else to occupy the 14th floor at the Defense Ministry. Therefore, it is highly doubtful whether this dramatic event will change anything in Israel’s political reality. The coalition remains the same, the deals remain the same, and only the weak politicians willing to serve Netanyahu change — until their heads, too, will roll.
The writer is a strategic and political advisor, as well as an independent political commentator.