MOSCOW: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed Defence Minister Yoav Gallant after the latter called on the Israeli government to halt the controversial judicial reform that sparked major nationwide protests, the prime minister’s office said on Sunday.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided, this evening, to dismiss Defence Minister Yoav Gallant,” Netanyahu’s office tweeted.
Netanyahu reportedly told Gallant that he had lost trust in the defence minister after Gallant “went behind the government’s back” on Saturday during Netanyahu’s visit to the United Kingdom, Sputnik quoted the Jerusalem Post newspaper report.
“The security of Israel has always been and will remain my lifelong mission,” Gallant said on Twitter in response to his dismissal.
Gallant became the first key Israeli minister to call for a halt of the reform. He stressed that there was a growing rift in Israeli society that was also penetrating the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and the country’s security agencies.
Thousands have been protesting against the judicial reform in Israel for almost 11 weeks now. The draft law presented by Justice Minister Yariv Levin in January, if adopted, will significantly curtail the powers of the Israeli Supreme Court and give the government control over the procedure of the appointment of judges. – BERNAMA-SPUTNIK
