Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired Defense Minister Yoav Galant. Photo: Times of Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired his defense minister after the latter broke ranks with the government by calling for a pause in the controversial judicial reform process.
Source: AFP
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to dismiss Defense Minister Yoav Galantthe prime minister’s office said in a statement.
Galant, a staunch ally of Netanyahu, declared Saturday night in a speech that “We must stop the legislative process” for a month due to the polarization it caused, on a day when 200,000 people took to the streets of Tel Aviv to protest against the reform.
Since the right-wing Netanyahu government presented in January a project of legal reform of the magistracythe country is sharply divided and there is demonstrations against the project weekly.
The project aims to give more control to politicians and reduce the role of the Supreme Courtand has been questioned by Israel’s main allieslike the United States.
Critics of the initiative warn that endangers the democratic character of Israel.
Netanyahu and his ultra-Orthodox and far-right allies defend it by pointing out the need to balance the forces between elected politicians and the Supreme Courtwhich they consider politicized.
“The growing social divide has reached the (military) and security agencies. It is a clear, immediate and tangible threat to Israel’s security,” said Galant of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party.
“I am committed to the values of the Likud and to putting the State of Israel above all else (…) but big changes at the national level must be made through deliberations and dialogueGalant added in his speech.
PROTESTS AND RESIGNATION
Hours after the dismissal announcement, Israel’s consul general in New York posted his resignation letter on Twitter.
“The political situation in Israel reached a critical point and I feel a deep responsibility and moral obligation to stand up for what is right“, stated Consul Asaf Zamirwho called the dismissal of the minister a “dangerous decision” that “convinced me that I could no longer represent this government.”
While, thousands of demonstrators came out to protest in downtown Tel Avivaccording to the police, and a large crowd blocked the main road through the coastal metropolis Ayalonaccording to an AFP journalist.
Carrying blue and white flags, protesters in Ayalon they chanted slogans such as “Get out with Bibi!” Netanyahu’s nickname.
The police said that protesters in Tel Aviv set tires on fire Sunday night.
Other spontaneous demonstrations took place in front of the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalemas well as in other cities in the country such as Haifa (north) and Beer Sheva (south), according to local media.
gallant He also called on the protesters to end the mobilizationswarning of threats to the security of the country.
“The security of Israel has always been and will continue to be the mission of my life.a,” Galant wrote Sunday on his Twitter account in reaction to his dismissal.
He israeli parliament plans to vote this week a central component of judicial reform, that would modify the way in which judges are appointed.
Netanyahu can fire Galant but he can’t fire reality and cannot fire the people of Israel who oppose the coalition folly,” opposition leader Yair Lapid, a former prime minister, tweeted.
“Israel’s prime minister is a threat to Israel’s security,” he added.
Galant is the first casualty in the fight over judicial reformbut other high authorities have expressed their concern.
President Isaac Herzog expressed weeks ago his dismay at the growing polarization in society and warned of the specter of a “genuine civil war.”
Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on Friday accused Netanyahu of “illegal” public interventionafter a message on television the night before about the reform program.
In that televised message, Netanyahu vowed to “responsibly push through” reforms and “end the division” that they have caused in the country.
But the opposition rejected the modifications to the reform package to make it more acceptablewhile the protesters announced a “week of national paralysis” against the measure.
