Opposition pillories Gallant’s firing as ‘act of madness,’ while coalition welcomes it

Opposition lawmakers and civil society groups condemned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision Tuesday to fire Yoav Gallant from his post as defense minister, accusing the premier of playing politics at the expense of Israel’s security and urging citizens to demonstrate publicly against the wartime dismissal.

The step indeed drew thousands to the streets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere around the country on Tuesday night.

The decision to replace Gallant in the middle of a war “is an act of madness,” Opposition Leader Yair Lapid posted on X, calling on Israelis to protest the high-level cabinet shakeup.

“Netanyahu is selling out Israel’s security and the IDF’s fighters for [his own] disgraceful political survival. The ultra-right-wing government prefers the [draft] dodgers over those who serve,” Lapid charged, connecting the dismissal to the fight over exemptions from military service for ultra-Orthodox men.

Branding Netanyahu “a threat to the existence of the state,” Lapid called on his party’s supporters and “all Zionist patriots to take to the streets tonight in protest.”

Netanyahu announced on Tuesday that he had fired Gallant, a lawmaker from his own Likud party with whom he has frequently clashed since the government’s accession at the end of 2022, and whom he fired in March 2023 only to reverse the move amid intense public objection.

The premier announced that Foreign Minister Israel Katz would replace Gallant as defense minister, with Gideon Sa’ar becoming foreign minister.

Netanyahu cited a lack of mutual trust with Gallant, saying the two men’s differences “came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy,” adding: “Our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it.”

But many saw the dismissal as driven by political disagreements surrounding legislation to grant ultra-Orthodox men an exemption from mandatory military service, which Haredi parties demanded the government support, but which Gallant opposed.

The defense minister was also widely expected to vote against a bill supported by the coalition that 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.

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.

National Unity party chairman Benny Gantz, a former member of Netanyahu’s now-defunct war cabinet who is now in the opposition, said the decision to fire Gallant constituted “politics at the expense of national security.”

“A defense minister who announces conscription orders for thousands of Haredim is fired in the middle of a war on the eve of an [expected Iranian] attack for the sake of the [draft] evasion law,” asserted National Unity lawmaker Orit Farkash-Hacohen.

“There is no low to which this government will not sink,” she said.

Yair Golan, chairman of the left-wing Democrats party, called on citizens to “take to the streets,” in a post on X that also urged nationwide class action in protest of the developments.

“I call on all heads of universities and all heads of colleges: suspend studies. I call on all the heads of the economy: stop work. I call on all the heads of the security forces: speak out, even now while you are in uniform.”

The dismissal on Tuesday marked the second time Netanyahu has fired Gallant, after doing the same in 2023 after Gallant spoke out against the government’s proposed judicial overhaul.

The 2023 firing brought hundreds of thousands of people to the streets in protest, and Netanyahu was forced to reverse his decision two weeks later, before Gallant ever officially vacated the post.

Yisrael Beytenu party chairman and former defense minister Avigdor Liberman — a former Netanyahu ally turned bitter rival — joined the chorus of condemnation Tuesday night, saying the decision to fire Gallant was an action worthy of a “banana republic.”

“Instead of taking care of national security first and putting the welfare of the citizens and soldiers first, the prime minister decided to fire the defense minister and start a new round of appointments during the fighting, all in order to meet shameful political needs,” Liberman declared, in a post on X.

“If a defense minister can be replaced in the middle of a war, it is also possible to replace a prime minister who failed in his duties and neglected the security of the country, and it is certainly possible to establish a state commission of inquiry,” he added.

Netanyahu has refused to greenlight a state commission of inquiry into the failures leading up to and during the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught which started the war, despite calls from across the political spectrum.

Gallant was among those publicly urging the prime minister to allow a commission of inquiry, calling in July for a panel that would look into his own behavior, as well as that of Netanyahu and the heads of various security agencies.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett also denounced Netanyahu and his government on Tuesday, posting a short video on X accusing Israel’s leadership of betraying its soldiers.

“We have sick and crazy leadership that has lost all connection to what is important to the State of Israel, and is essentially working against the State of Israel, against the soldiers,” Bennett said in the video.

“I call on our soldiers on all fronts: Don’t lose focus against the enemy. If you guard us, we the public will guard you. Don’t despair, change is coming,” he wrote in a post accompanying the clip.

Bennett, who served as prime minister in 2021-2022 and is reportedly preparing for a yet-to-be-announced return to politics, has previously fulminated against the Haredi draft legislation, saying last month that any lawmakers who support the bill “simply sell out IDF soldiers.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum condemned Gallant’s dismissal on Tuesday, calling it a “direct continuation of the ‘efforts’ to torpedo the hostage deal.”

The group, which represents most of the families of those taken hostage in the October 7 attack, demanded in a statement that incoming defense minister Israel Katz “express an explicit commitment to the end of the war and to carry out a comprehensive deal for the immediate return of all the abductees.”

“The dismissal of the defense minister is an unfortunate proof of the Israeli government’s poor set of priorities,” the Forum added, stating that “the military goals in the Gaza Strip have been achieved” and that Israel must now obtain a “comprehensive deal for the release of all the abductees and the end of the war.”

“It is impossible for political, party and personal interests to continue to be the focus instead of the real national interest in the immediate return of all the hostages,” the statement, posted to X, concluded.

Katz himself issued a tweet thanking Netanyahu “for the trust he placed in me in appointing me to the position of defense minister.”

“I accept this responsibility with a sense of mission and a deep commitment to the security of the State of Israel and its citizens,” Katz said. “We will work together to advance the defense establishment to victory against our enemies and to achieve the goals of the war: the return of all the hostages as the most important mission, the destruction of Hamas in Gaza, the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the curbing of Iranian aggression, and the safe return of the residents of the north and south to their homes.”

Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly clashed over efforts to secure the release of hostages still held captive by the Hamas terror group in Gaza, as well as the management of the war more broadly.

Gallant has reportedly urged Netanyahu to be more flexible in negotiations with Hamas, including agreeing to a withdrawal from the enclave in exchange for the return of the captives.

In May, Gallant publicly criticized Netanyahu for not deciding who should govern the enclave after the toppling of Hamas, and in late October, he reportedly sent a harshly-worded missive to Netanyahu warning that Israel’s war efforts had become aimless and needed to be refocused.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel called on Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara Tuesday to “intervene immediately and examine the legality” of the dismissal.

In a statement, the watchdog argued that Gallant’s termination was “a narrow political move that places personal and political interests above the good of the state and the security of its citizens.”

The group linked Netanyahu’s decision to the contentious Haredi draft legislation, and said that firing Gallant “at a time when the IDF is fighting on the various fronts constitutes a serious blow to the security system and to the principles of proper administration, and indicates a serious leadership failure.”

The Israel Business Forum, which represents most workers in the private sector in the country, said firing Gallant and appointing a minister without any security experience in the middle of a war is a “dangerous move.”

“This is a huge blow to the serving public and a reward to our enemies,” the forum warned. “A prime minister who prefers political survival and personal interests over the security of the country does not deserve to remain in office.”

The forum of 200 leading businesses includes mall chain Big Shopping Centers, the Azrieli Group and banking institutions.

Hebrew media reported that business leaders and the Histadrut Labor Union were discussing calling for a strike to protest the move.

Without mentioning Netanyahu or Gallant, President Isaac Herzog issued a statement saying “the last thing Israel needs right now is an upheaval and a rupture in the middle of the war. Israel’s security must be above all considerations.”

“One hundred and one hostages are still in enemy captivity this evening,” the president said. “Thousands of bereaved girls and family members mourn their shattered world. Many reservists bear the burden of protecting the people and the homeland and cry out together with their families for a broad Israeli partnership. Thousands of our brothers are evacuated from their homes for over a year.”

“We must not go back towards the abyss!” Herzog cautioned. “Israel’s enemies are only waiting for a sign of weakness, disintegration or division within us.”

He called on Israel’s leadership to “act with great responsibility.”

Meanwhile, among the coalition, some politicians welcomed the move.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, praised Gallant’s termination, stating that “it is not possible to achieve absolute victory” in the war with him in office.

“The prime minister did well to remove him from his position,” said Ben Gvir, who has previously called for Gallant’s ouster on multiple occasions.

Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu, also of Otzma Yehudit, expressed similar sentiment, saying that while Gallant was “a man of many virtues,” he was also a force for opposition within the coalition whose positions were not in line with the interests of the state.

“There are times when it takes courage to change direction,” Eliyahu said, adding that the end of Gallant’s tenure would lead “to a better security reality.”

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi also welcomed Gallant’s firing, asserting that his fellow Likud minister had “failed to rise to the heroic spirit of our brave warriors who demand victory” and that his departure clears the war for victory in Gaza.

“The last one remaining to hinder and fight the government is Mrs. Miara,” he continued, referring to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. “Send her home now.”

Pushing back on the criticism, an official close to Netanyahu told The Time of Israel that Gallant was fired for professional reasons, and not because of coalition politics.

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

The defense minister, claimed 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, claimed 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 added 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,” said the official, “are actually decisions that he opposed in real time, and that the prime minister pushed and promoted.”

Sharon Wrobel and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.