Official close to Netanyahu claims Gallant fired for professional reasons

An official close to the Prime Minister tells The Time of Israel that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was fired for professional reasons, and not because of coalition politics.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says that Gallant “functioned as a rubber stamp for the IDF and did not challenge it even once.”

The defense minister, claims the official, advocated a diplomatic solution in Lebanon six months ago that would not have diminished Hezbollah’s capabilities, and opposed the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah until the IDF backed the move.

On Gaza, claims the official, Gallant resisted the IDF going into Rafah because of American pressure, and fought against Netanyahu’s and most of the cabinet’s position on the need to remain on the Philadelphi corridor.

The official adds that Gallant “opposes taking any responsibility for the distribution of humanitarian aid, which perpetuates the Hamas government in Gaza.”

The achievements Gallant “boasted about tonight in his speech,” says the official, “are actually decisions that he opposed in real time, and that the prime minister pushed and promoted.”