Benjamin Netanyahu fires his defense minister for demanding that he cancel plans to reform the judicial system
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sacked Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after he demanded the cancellation of controversial plans to reform the judicial system.
Netanyahu summoned Galant to a meeting and informed him that he no longer trusted him as defense minister.
Plans to limit the powers of the judiciary had led to months of public protests.
Galant described Netanyahu’s plans as “a clear and direct danger” to the country’s security.
Galant said in a brief televised statement published on Saturday evening that members of the Israeli army are feeling angry and frustrated, to a degree not seen before.
The defense minister won the support of some of his colleagues in Netanyahu’s Likud party, but others on the far right demanded his departure.
Protests against proposed changes to the justice system continued Sunday evening, with protesters blocking major streets in the city of Tel Aviv.
The judicial amendments are an integral part of the plans of the Israeli right, which forms a coalition government, which is considered the most stringent in the history of the country, and aims to reduce the powers of the judiciary.
The amendments include allowing Parliament to change the decisions of the Supreme Court, in a move that critics describe as undermining the independence of the judiciary, and enabling politicians to exploit it.
But Netanyahu says the reforms are aimed at preventing the courts from abusing the powers available to them, and that the people voted for them in the last elections.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid called Galant’s dismissal “a new low point” for the government.
Lapid added, “Netanyahu can expel Galant, but he cannot expel reality or expel the Israeli people who stand in the face of the coalition’s madness.”