While the international news last night was focused on the conduct of the presidential elections in the United Statesthe prime minister’s office in Jerusalem released a laconic letter, signed by Benjamin Netanyahu, informing Defense Minister Yoav Gallad that he was stepping down from his duties. With an additional, equally short, announcement, it was clarified that the Prime Minister’s decision was due to the ongoing “difference of opinion” between the two politicians.

A little later, in his televised speech, he himself Joab Gallant was more specific. Political overtones rose when he stated that the real reasons for his dismissal from the government were his insistence on prioritizing the release of hostages, the mandatory conscription of all eligible citizens – including Ultra-Orthodox Jews, but above all, at his request to establish a special commission of inquiry, which will assign responsibility to the persons who did not fulfill their duties in preventing and successfully dealing with the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

Before Gallant had even finished his emotionally charged speech, opposition groups representing, among others, the positions of the hostages’ relatives, called on people to take to the streets to protest. The main streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities in the country were soon filled with demonstrators demanding Gallant’s return to the government, while accusing Netanyahu of, for personal political gain, preventing an agreement to be reached on the release of the hostages. claiming that it was precisely for this reason that he decided to remove the popular defense minister.

The “difficult” relations between Netanyahu and Galland

Last night’s development was the culmination of the difficult interpersonal relations between Netanyahu and Gallant. It is worth noting that it was not the first time that Gallant was suspended from his duties. On March 26, 2023, over his public statements criticizing judicial reform promoted by extreme voices in the government, Gallant was suspended by Netanyahu while the latter was on an official visit to London. This again sparked angry mass protests across the country, forcing Netanyahu to reverse his decision a few days later.

Netanyahu’s message to the US

Since the start of the war, Netanyahu-Galand relations have not improved. The reason this time was the repeated disagreements of the Biden administration regarding the management of the war by the Israeli side. Indeed, in recent months, the local media leaked intense conversations that Gallant had at times exchanged with Netanyahu and several other government ministers. These concerned both the course of negotiations for a cease-fire in Gaza, and the question of whether or not to maintain the conscription exemption for Ultra-Orthodox Jews, despite the shortages in the human resources of the armed forces

On the other hand, pro-Netanyahu officials and journalists began to leak that during his one-on-one meetings with US officials, Gallant was promoting his own agenda rather than the government’s views. Gallant’s deep distrust was made clear when Netanyahu forbade him to travel alone to Washington for consultations.

The timing of Gallant’s impeachment with the US presidential election should not be considered a coincidence. It is truly appreciated that, in this inelegant way, Netanyahu, before it was even clear who would be the next occupant of the White House, wanted to make it clear in all directions that from now on the American decision-making centers must not bypass him.