Israel Katz, the “bulldozer”, appointed Minister of Defense

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday, after differences over the conduct of the war in Gaza, and replaced him with his Foreign Affairs counterpart Israel Katz who promised to defeat the “enemies” of the country.

This surprise announcement comes while awaiting the result of the presidential election in the United States, the main ally of Israel, a country which is fighting on two fronts, against Palestinian Hamas in Gaza and against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“In the midst of war, trust is required more than ever between the prime minister and his defense minister” but “in recent months, this trust has been eroded,” Netanyahu said in a letter to Gallant. “Significant differences emerged… in the conduct of the (military) campaign, accompanied by statements and actions that contradicted the decisions of the government and the cabinet,” he added.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog warned of “upheaval” in the country at war for more than a year and called for “responsibility.” “The last thing the State of Israel needs right now is an upheaval and a rupture in the middle of the war,” he said on X.

Yoav Gallant was for the United States an “important partner on all subjects related to the defense of Israel,” welcomed a spokesperson for the State Department. “We will continue to work with the next Israeli defense minister,” he assured.

Netanyahu chose foreign minister Israel Katz, nicknamed the “Bulldozer,” to replace Gallant. Serving on the security cabinet, Katz “combines the responsibility and calm problem-solving qualities that are essential to leading this campaign,” the prime minister said.

“We will work together to lead the Department of Defense to victory against the enemy and achieve the goals of the war: the return of the hostages, the destruction of Hamas, the defeat of Hezbollah, the containment of Iranian aggression and the return home in safety of the inhabitants of the north and south of Israel,” Katz assured on X.

Yoav Gallant had established himself as a leading figure in Israel’s war against Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon. But he attracted the wrath of the ultra-Orthodox parties, key allies of the Prime Minister’s coalition, by ordering the conscription of 10,000 men from this religious community who had until then benefited from an exemption under a rule established at the creation of Israel in 1948. Netanyahu “did well” to dismiss Yoav Gallant, reacted the Minister of Internal Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, of the far right.

Gallant also pleaded for a truce with Hamas with a view to obtaining the release of hostages still held in Gaza since the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7, 2023 against Israel, while the objective hammered out by Netanyahu is annihilation of this training.

Israel must ensure the return of hostages held in captivity “as quickly as possible” and “as long as they are alive”, even at the cost of “painful compromise”, Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday, after being fired. “Our moral and ethical duty is to bring back (…) those kidnapped by Hamas. We must do it as quickly as possible and while they are alive,” he argued in a televised speech. “It is possible to bring back the hostages, but that includes painful compromises,” he continued.