Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, and appointed Israel Katz to succeed him, triggering protests across the country.
In a surprise announcement on Tuesday, Netanyahu said he had lost confidence in Gallant over the management of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
“Over the past few months that trust has eroded. In light of this, I decided today to end the term of the defence minister,” the prime minister said in a statement issued by his office.
The statement added that the differences between Netanyahu and Gallant “grew wider” and became known by the public “in an unusual manner and, worse, became known to our enemies, who took pleasure in them and derived substantial benefit from them”.
Shortly afterwards, Gallant said in a post on X that working to ensure Israel’s security would “always remain the mission of my life”.
Netanyahu appointed Foreign Minister Israel Katz to succeed Gallant as defence minister, while Gideon Saar became the new foreign minister.
On X, Katz promised to “achieve the goals of the war” and return the captives held in Gaza as “the most important value mission”.
Within hours of the statement, thousands of protesters gathered in Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv, blocking the city’s main highway and lit a bonfire, as hundreds of protesters assembled in front of Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem. Protesters also blocked roads in several other locations across the country.
At least 43,391 people have been killed, and 102,347 others wounded in Israel’s assault on Gaza since October 2023, according to Palestinian health authorities.
source: aljazeera.com
