Benjamin Netanyahu finally made his decision at the most unexpected moment, as an election day began in the United States, the result of which should prove decisive for his country. Tuesday evening, November 5, the Israeli Prime Minister announced the dismissal of his defense minister, Yoav Gallant. The latter, in increasingly open opposition with Mr. Netanyahu on the way to conduct the war in Gaza, but also on other crucial subjects, ended up embodying a form of internal contradiction, and intolerable, for the Prime Minister , even though both men belong to the same party, Likud. The decision, which immediately sparked demonstrations in several places in Israel, comes to an end to long months of tension between the two men. It comes as Israel is still engaged in a war which, from Gaza to Lebanon, involves the army on several fronts, and as Iran has threatened to engage in a new sequence of missile attacks against Israeli territory.
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To explain his decision, the Israeli Prime Minister declared in a press release that he had, with Yoav Gallant, discussions “significant disputes over how to conduct the military campaign”. “In the midst of war, trust is more than ever required between the Prime Minister and his Minister of Defense”more, “in recent months, this confidence has eroded”Mr. Netanyahu had written a few hours earlier in a letter addressed to Mr. Gallant.
Tensions between the two men had actually reached a breaking point during the summer. Yoav Gallant, with the support of the military hierarchy, but also the agreement of the heads of the intelligence services, has estimated, since the beginning of 2023, that the army should put an end to ground operations in Gaza and that it is urgent to conclude an agreement with Hamas to end the war and obtain the release of the Israeli hostages still alive (there would be only 51 of the 101 held in the enclave, according to the government). Benyamin Netanyahu, for his part, continues to hold an opposing opinion, which is also that of the far-right ministers within his government coalition. The latter have threatened to leave in the event of a peace agreement in Gaza, leading to new elections, a prospect which Mr. Netanyahu refuses, fearing of losing power.
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