Likud tribunal rejects petitions to expel ex-defense minister Yoav Gallant

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party’s internal tribunal unanimously rejects petitions to expel former defense minister Yoav Gallant from the party.

While the tribunal sharply criticizes Gallant’s conduct, including his opposition to the Likud-led overhaul of the judiciary and attempts to legislate draft exemptions for yeshiva students, it finds no constitutional grounds for expelling him from the party, according to Hebrew media reports.

The petitions, filed by Likud members and backed by the party’s legal adviser, accused Gallant of violating party principles, obstructing government policies, and aiding the opposition.

The tribunal rejects these claims, arguing that there is insufficient evidence to support them, while noting that a lawmaker’s duty is ultimately to the state rather than the party, and that any judgment on whether Gallant acted out of genuine concern for the national interest should be left to voters, not party judges.

The judges also warn against using allegations of disloyalty to the party to settle internal political scores, noting the irony that the petitioners were asking the tribunal to intervene in areas in which Likud has long argued courts should not.

Gallant resigned from the Knesset in January 2025, several months after Netanyahu fired him from his cabinet post. In March, he ruled out running in the upcoming elections set for October.

The former defense minister has said he was sacked over his insistence that ultra-Orthodox men be drafted to mandatory military service, that the government strike a hostage deal with Hamas, and that a state commission of inquiry be opened into the October 7 attack.