To say that the two former chiefs of staff, Gantz and Eisenkot, are fed up with Netanyahu’s behavior would be the understatement of the century
At a press conference on Wednesday last week, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant publicly threw down the gauntlet before his boss, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, demanding that he rule out Israeli military control of Gaza the day after Hamas is defeated.
This isn’t the first time Gallant has openly rebelled against the government he serves in. The first time came when he demanded to end the judicial reform earlier this year. Netanyahu fired him immediately, a move he had to retract in the face of massive protests. This time when Gallant spoke out, the prime minister’s response was notably measured.
As the man heading Israel’s security forces on October 7, Gallant won’t be able to escape accountability, but to be fair, his gripes over Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich’s influence date back to his first day in office.
“There can only be one defense minister,” he said while repeatedly thwarting Smotrich in the latter’s role as “minister for settler affairs” within the Defense Ministry, a portfolio he holds alongside the Finance Ministry.
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