Uit is « crisis of confidence ». It is in these terms that Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu justified the dismissal of his defense minister Yoav Galant, on the evening of November 5, 2024, while the planet held its breath awaiting the results of the American presidential election. The dissensions between these two Likud members were notorious for a long time, until the attack of October 7, 2023 muted them.
But in recent months, the points of disagreement have multiplied. Not that Mr. Yoav Galant stood out from the Israeli desire to inflict ruthless reprisals on the Gazans. « We fight human animals and we act accordingly », he insisted after the Hamas assault. Last May, Mr. Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), considered that his responsibility was, like that of Mr. Netanyahu, « committed for war crimes and crimes against humanity » committed against the Palestinians.
Mr. Yoav Galant nevertheless made a dissonant voice heard within an Israeli cabinet dominated by those of ultranationalist ministers, quick to blackmail a withdrawal from the ruling coalition and ardent supporters of a « total victory » in Gaza. Of « gibberish », Mr. Galant said last August about this expression devoid of explicit objectives. The former defense minister, privileged interlocutor of Mr. Joseph Biden’s administration in Israel, deplored the fact that the Netanyahu team had not prepared any plan for “ day after » in the enclave. He was in favor of an agreement which would have allowed the return of Israelis kidnapped almost fifteen months ago, in exchange for a truce which the Israeli far right opposes. « As a military formation, Hamas no longer exists », he estimated in September. Mr. Galant also campaigned for the creation of a commission of inquiry to shed light on Israel’s failure to anticipate the massacres of October 7. Finally, considering, contrary to the far right, that all communities must participate in the war effort, he had just approved the conscription of 7,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews the day before his dismissal.
While Israel continues to bomb Gaza without respite and the offensive in Lebanon has not weakened since September 23, it is Mr. Israel Katz, a Likud apparatchik with no military experience, who took over the defense portfolio after having taken care of foreign affairs. In mid-October, the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinouar seemed to remove an obstacle to a possible breakthrough in negotiations with the Palestinian movement. To the great dismay of the families of the hostages, the ouster of Mr. Galant now jeopardizes this hope, as does Qatar’s at least temporary renunciation of its mediation efforts. According to Israeli authorities, 97 people taken to Gaza have not reappeared since October 7, 2023. Two thirds of them are still alive.
