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Israël ontslaat defensieminister infographic
Graphic shows profiles of Yoav Gallant and Israel Katz.
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CONFLICT

Israëlische Netanyahu ontslaat zijn defensieminister

By Duncan Mil

November 6, 2024 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that sparked a mass gathering that paralysed central Tel Aviv.

Gallant, the departing defence minister, had opposed Prime Minister Netanyahu on key policies -- pushing for a cease-fire with Hamas, saying it was the only way to free dozens of Israeli hostages held by the group in Gaza.

His dismissal removes an opponent but has stirred public discontent. Netanyahu has replaced Gallant with Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who on November 4, withdrew from the 1967 agreement recognising UNRWA, the Palestinian refugee agency.

On the domestic front, Gallant had pushed to scrap an exemption from military service for Ultra-Orthodox Jews. This measure risked collapsing Netanyahu’s government because it angered its Ultra-Orthodox backers.

Netanyahu’s support for policies opposed by Gallant “will cost him in the long term,” said Michael Koplow, an analyst at the Israel Policy Forum, a New York-based research group. “So even if his short term calculation is correct, he may turn out to be penny wise and pound foolish.”

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court sought arrest warrants for both Netanyahu and Gallant about the Gaza offensive, which has claimed some 43,400 Palestinian lives.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 06/11/2024; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Getty Images
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