From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
NGO calls on AG to examine legality of move to fire Gallant, says motivations are political
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel calls on Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to “intervene immediately and examine the legality” of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
In a statement, the good government watchdog argues that Gallant’s termination is “a narrow political move that places personal and political interests above the good of the state and the security of its citizens.”
The group links Netanyahu’s decision to his government’s push to pass legislation intended to facilitate ultra-Orthodox Israelis’ “evasion” of military service, arguing that firing Gallant “at a time when the IDF is fighting on the various fronts, constitutes a serious injury to the security system and the principles of proper administration, and indicates a serious leadership failure.”
Gallant is an opponent of Haredi-backed legislation to exempt yeshiva students from military service. On Monday, the IDF announced it would send out another 7,000 draft orders to members of the ultra-Orthodox community next week after the first phase of a plan to draft Haredi soldiers was largely unsuccessful.
He was widely expected to vote against a bill supported by the coalition which seeks to circumvent a High Court ruling preventing state-funded daycare subsidies from going to the children of ultra-Orthodox men who did not serve in the military.
