Israel: Netanyahu will likely keep Gallant as DM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to keep Yoav Gallant as his defence minister despite announcing his dismissal last week, local media reported yesterday.

Ynet News reported sources close to Netanyahu saying that there was no decision on whether to continue with Gallant’s dismissal, citing security concerns.

The Times of Israel said that Netanyahu and Gallant seemed to make a show of putting their public beef aside as they appeared together at two back-to-back pre-Passover toasts and called for a unified Israeli front.

“Without the IDF [Israeli army] and without security forces, there is no State of Israel. In order for the State of Israel to exist, we need to protect one another, we need to preserve our ability to defend ourselves against those who want to kill us,” Netanyahu said.

He added: “The most important thing is keeping politics outside the base, uniting together to defend Israel, that’s why we are here.”

While Gallant said: “The enemy’s bullets do not discriminate between those who come from the city or country, from the mountains or valleys. We are all the same on the battlefield, so we need to show a unified front against the enemy.”

Netanyahu fired Gallant last Sunday after the defence minister warning that efforts to pass the planned judicial overhaul would have security consequences on Israel.

READ: Netanyahu demands apology from dismissed DM