Director general of Israel’s defence ministry resigns

Director General of the Israeli Defence Ministry, Eyal Zamir, announced yesterday that he will resign, a week after the sacking of former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Anadolu agency reported.

Zamir met with new Defence Minister Israel Katz to hand in his resignation, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. No details were given as to why Zamir sought to step down.

“At the request of the defence minister, it was agreed that at this time the director general will continue in his position,” the ministry added.

Zamir was appointed by Gallant last year and has played a major role in keeping the flow of weapons to Israel amid its ongoing wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sacked Gallant, citing “a crisis of confidence” that has gradually grown between the two and which did not allow for the “normal” management of the war in Gaza and Lebanon.

Zamir’s resignation also comes amid successive scandals that have rocked Netanyahu’s office in recent weeks, including the leaking of secret documents to the media, issuing orders to halt the recording of war cabinet meetings, which is a deviation from standard security protocols, possession of sensitive personal documents concerning an army officer with the aim of blackmailing him, and collecting data from a security camera.

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