Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has removed his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and appointed Israel Katz to succeed him, sparking nationwide demonstrations.
In a surprising revelation on Tuesday, Netanyahu stated that he had lost trust in Gallant’s command of Israel’s battles in Gaza and Lebanon.
“Over the past few months that trust has eroded. In light of this, I decided today to end the term of the defence minister,” the prime minister said in a statement issued by his office.
The statement added that the differences between Netanyahu and Gallant “grew wider” and became known by the public “in an unusual manner and, worse, became known to our enemies, who took pleasure in them and derived substantial benefit from them”.
Netanyahu appointed Foreign Minister Israel Katz to succeed Gallant as defence minister, while Gideon Saar became the new foreign minister.
