Why did Netanyahu sack Yoav Gallant as Israel's defence minister? Who is Israel Katz, who will replace him?

Miles away from the United States, where presidential elections are underway, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed Defence Minister Yoav Gallant due to a “crisis of trust.”

Gallant has been replaced by Netanyahu’s close ally, Israel Katz, who will now oversee operations in Gaza and Lebanon.

This dismissal is Gallant’s second firing by Netanyahu. In March 2023, Gallant had publicly warned that internal divisions over the government’s proposed judicial reforms were so severe that they could embolden Israel’s adversaries and jeopardise national security. Although Netanyahu announced Gallant’s removal, he later reversed the decision after several public protests.

This time, Netanyahu formalised the dismissal with an official letter, which takes effect after 48 hours.

The decision comes as Israel braces for potential direct attacks from Iran. Recently, under Gallant’s command, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) successfully conducted a strike on Iran, targeting facilities involved in missile production.

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Why did Netanyahu fire Gallant?

Netanyahu dismissed Gallant over a “crisis of trust,” stating that his trust in Gallant had “eroded” in recent months.

“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and the minister of defence,” the Israeli PM said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Gallant said that his removal was due to disagreement on three issues, including his belief that it is possible to get the remaining hostages back from Gaza if Israel makes “painful concessions” which it “can bear”.

Notably, both leaders are members of the right-wing Likud party and have clashed for months over the objectives of Israel’s 13-month-old conflict in Gaza against Hamas. Many had expected Gallant’s eventual dismissal, but the timing came as a surprise, especially as the United States was focused on its presidential election.

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Gallant, a retired general with a 35-year military career, has been a key point of contact for Washington over the past year of conflict.

Netanyahu admitted that he tried bridging the gaps between the two leaders, however, they “kept getting wider” and eventually became public.

“Worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy and our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it.”

The Israeli Prime Minister said that such disagreements were accompanied by actions that “contradict the decisions of the government and the decisions of the cabinet."

Responding to his removal, Gallant said, “The security of the state of Israel always was and will always remain my life’s mission.”

The clashes between Netanyahu and Gallant reflect a broader split within Israel’s right-wing governing coalition and the military, which has long called for a deal to end the conflict and bring home the hostages held by Hamas.

Following the announcement, opposition leaders called for Israelis to protest in the streets. Protests broke out in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Outside Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, protesters shouted “shame!” Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv, protesters blocked a main highway, and families of the hostages held in Gaza chanted “Bibi is a traitor,” using the prime minister’s nickname.

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Who is Israel Katz, the new defence minister?

Katz, the newly appointed Defence Minister, has been a close ally of Benjamin Netanyahu and is expected to align with Netanyahu’s hard-line stance on ceasefire discussions.

Previously the foreign minister, Katz has not held senior military command positions, unlike his predecessor Yoav Gallant, a former general.

Born in 1955 in Ashkelon, Katz served as a paratrooper from 1973 to 1977 but has primarily pursued a political career.

A long-time member of the right-wing Likud party, Katz has served in the Knesset since 1998, holding ministerial roles in agriculture, transport, intelligence, finance, and energy.

Appointed foreign minister in 2019, he maintained a relatively low profile in relations with the US during Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s 11 trips to Israel since the war broke out between Israel and Hamas. Notably, Blinken has regularly met Gallant compared to only a few meetings with Katz.

Katz has an undergraduate as well as a graduate degree from Israel’s Hebrew University. He is married and the couple has two children.

His appointment comes amid internal divides within Netanyahu’s coalition. Gallant had called for prioritising the return of hostages held by Hamas, even if it required a temporary end to the war - a stance opposed by Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right minister in Netanyahu’s coalition government hailed the decision, stating that Gallant was still “ trapped in the conception" that it “is not possible to achieve absolute victory”.

However, Benny Gantz, Netanyahu’s arch-political rival, said that the move was “politics at the expense of national security.”

Recently, Israel has intensified operations against Hezbollah, Iran’s key ally in the region, including high-profile actions like destroying Hezbollah’s electronic systems, killing leader Hasan Nasrallah, and conducting a military incursion into southern Lebanon.

With inputs from agencies