There had been protests against the dismissal of Defense Minister Galant.
(Photo: dpa)
Tel Aviv Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reversed the dismissal of Defense Minister Joav Galant after massive protests. The head of government announced in Tel Aviv on Monday evening that Galant, who like himself belongs to the right-wing conservative Likud party, is returning to office. “We will work together for Israel’s security,” Netanyahu promised.
The head of the right-wing religious government had dismissed Galant last month because he had called for a halt to the controversial judicial reform.
There were immediately new protests on the streets against the dismissal. The opposition and experts criticized the sacking as unprofessional in view of the precarious security situation in Israel. In the evening, Netanyahu said: “Our country is under a terrorist attack.” He accused the government of his predecessor Jair Lapid of having damaged deterrence. He was referring to a maritime border agreement with Lebanon that the Lapid government signed in October. Netanyahu spoke of an “agreement with the (Lebanese militia) Hezbollah”.
Netanyahu announced that he would restore security. He threatened the Syrian government of ruler Bashar al-Assad that it would “pay a high price” if there were further rocket attacks on Israel. Israel will also not allow the infrastructure of the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas to be set up in Lebanon. Rockets were also fired at Israel from Lebanon on Thursday.
Netanyahu also said that he would stick to the judicial reform, but wanted to strive for a broad consensus. Minority rights will be guaranteed. The current Netanyahu government is more right-wing than any government before it. She has been in office for three months. Overall, Netanyahu has been in office longer than any Israeli prime minister before.
More: “Netanyahu will not be invited to the White House any time soon” – Joe Biden