Israel PM Netanyahu fires defence minister Gallant

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired defence minister Yoav Gallant, saying there is a “crisis of trust” between them.

Netanyahu said in a statement that his trust in Gallant had “eroded” in recent months.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz will replace Gallant, Netanyahu added.

Gallant posted on social media that the “security of the state of Israel was and will always remain the mission of my life”.

In a statement, Netanyahu said: “In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and the minister of defence.

“Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the minister of defense.”

Netanyahu said that “significant gaps were discovered between me and Gallant in the management of the campaign”.

“These gaps were accompanied by statements and actions that contradict the decisions of the government and the decisions of the cabinet,” he added.

Netanyahu said he “made many attempts to bridge these gaps, but they kept getting wider”, adding that “our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it”.

Gallant only posted a short message on X, stating that the security of Israel “was and will always remain the mission of my life”.

Katz will succeed Gallant as defence minister, while Gideon Sa’ar becomes the new foreign minister, Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu and Gallant have had a fractious relationship at times.

Netanyahu first fired Gallant in March of last year following their disagreement over controversial plans to overhaul the justice system.

But he was forced to retract the sacking following massive public protests in several cities in Israel.

In May this year, Gallant voiced open frustration at the government’s failure to address the question of a post-war plan for Gaza. Gallant wanted Netanyahu to declare publicly that Israel has no plans to take over civilian and military rule in Gaza.

It was a rare public sign over the divisions within Israel’s war cabinet over the direction of the military campaign.

“Since October, I have been raising this issue consistently in the cabinet,” Gallant said, “and have received no response”.

Netanyahu responded by saying that he was “not ready to exchange Hamastan for Fatahstan,” in reference to rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah.