Netanyahu and Gallant preach unity in joint base appearance

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are making a show of putting their public beef aside, appearing together at a pre-Passover toast and calling for unified Israeli stance.

“The most important thing is keeping politics outside the base, uniting together to defend Israel, that’s why we are here,” Netanyahu says, according to a statement from his office.

Gallant delivers a similar message of unity in the face of a common enemy to soldiers, the Defense Ministry says in a separate statement.

“The enemy’s bullets don’t discriminate between those who come from the city or country, from the mountains or valleys. We’re all the same on the battlefield, so we need to show a unified front against the enemy,” the defense minister says.

“This is especially relevant now, when we see attempts to hurt us in new places — where we haven’t seen attacks in past years,” he adds, without elaborating.

Netanyahu announced he was firing Gallant last week for urging the government to pause its judicial overhaul blitz, but has yet to actually fire him.

Earlier Monday, the Prime Minister’s Office said the firing had been delayed by security concerns. Reports, however, have indicated that Netanyahu is waiting for Gallant to apologize and profess fealty to his rule.