A source in the Prime Minister’s Office reportedly told KAN on Monday that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (Likud) is reportedly planning to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud) in the near future.
According to the source, Netanyahu’s people are negotiating with New Hope party chairman Gideon S’ar to replace Gallant.
The report added that tensions between Netanyahu and Gallant reached a peak Sunday night regarding escalations with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
KAN quoted the prime minister as saying that “If Gallant tries to thwart an operation in the north – he will be replaced.”
Major-General Uri Gordin, head of Israel’s northern military command, currently supports a limited operation in Lebanon while Gallant opposes it.
But the tension between Netanyahu and Gallant runs deeper. Gallant has been openly collaborating with Washington on sensitive matters that violate diplomatic protocol and undermine the prime minister. Allowing him to remain in his post could arguably pose a threat to Israel’s security.
In response to the KAN report, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a denial regarding S’ar but didn’t mention anything about dismissing Gallant.
S’ar has meanwhile also denied claims that he could be joining Netanyahu’s coalition.
While it’s clear that Prime Minister Netanyahu should fire Gallant, the smart move would not be to replace him with S’ar but rather with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Due to Bennett’s current popularity in the polls, he’s a replacement that would allow most Israelis to accept Gallant’s dismissal.
Furthermore, the defense ministry in the midst of what most Israelis consider to be an existential war would be an offer Naftali Bennett couldn’t refuse. In fact, refusing such an offer would cause him to appear as if he’s prioritizing politics over the national interest. And despite his many flaws, Bennett has been making a sound argument in support of Israel focussing more of its military power directly against Iran.
If Bennett were to be successful in the defense ministry, the credit would be shared with the prime minister. If not, Bennett would be tainted with the same stain of failure as Netanyahu’s coalition. Either way, he would no longer be able to campaign/criticize the government from outside while remaining “pure” on the sidelines.
