Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired his government’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, after he publicly requested this Saturday the interruption of the controversial judicial reform promoted by the Executive.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided today, Sunday March 26, to remove Defense Minister Yoav Gallant from his post,” a spokesman for the president announced in a statement that did not provide further details about this measure.
Gallant’s statements marked the first public expression by a senior executive, and Netanyahu’s party, against the advance of judicial reform, which has unleashed a strong protest movement in the country. “I say it loudly and publicly, for the good of the State of Israel and our children, we must stop this legislative process,” Gallant said last night during a televised intervention.
“We need to stop the demonstrations and protests, and seek dialogue. Anything that damages the strength of the Army and the security system must be stopped immediately,” he added, alluding to the massive popular movement rejecting judicial reform and the growing number of Army reservists refusing to train and serve in protest of the same measure.
These statements were quickly supported by two other parliamentarians from Likud, the party headed by Netanyahu, and rejected by other members of the Executive, including the Minister of National Security, the far-right Itamar Ben Gvir. The controversial reform, which seeks to grant more power to the Executive to the detriment of Justice, has unleashed massive protests throughout the country and generated a deep rift in Israeli society.
Despite criticism from countless quarters and warnings of its impact not only on the separation of powers but also on Israel’s economy, the government continues to push forward with some of the pillars of the reform, including a law that would grant control of de facto to the Government on the selection committee of judges.
The Government intends to approve this latest law this week, something that has motivated the organizers of the demonstrations to intensify the protests. In fact, after Netanyahu’s decision to fire Gallant, they called a demonstration for this same Sunday in Tel Aviv. The dismissal of the minister was also rejected by the former prime minister and current leader of the opposition, Yair Lapid, who said that this measure “harms national security.”
“Netanyahu can stop Gallant, but he can’t stop reality and the people of Israel facing the follies of this coalition,” Lapid wrote on Twitter.