Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his Defence Minister Yoav Gallant citing lack of trust, Times of Israel reported. Gallant, who was a longtime rival from within the Likud Party, will be replaced by Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz. Minister without Portfolio Gideon Sa'ar will replace Katz, as per Times of Israel.
Times of Israel quoted a statement from the Prime Minister's Office which stated that Netanyahu informed Gallant that his tenure as the Defence Minister would end "48 hours from the receipt of this letter." "I would like to thank you for your service as defense minister," the curt letter concluded, as per Times of Israel. "Unfortunately, although in the first months of the war, there was trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defence minister," Netanyahu said in a video statement, as per Times of Israel.
He says they disagreed on the management of the war and charged that Gallant made statements and took actions that contradict cabinet decisions. Netanyahu also accused Gallant of indirectly aiding Israel's enemies: "I made many attempts to bridge these gaps, but they kept getting wider," Times of Israel quoted him as saying. "They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy -- our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it," Times of Israel quoted Netanyahu.
The "crisis of faith" with the defen.