Jerusalem, Nov 7 (EFE).- Israel’s outgoing Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is keeping the troops in the enclave without justification, according to several Israeli media outlets.
“I can tell you what there was not, security considerations. Me and the IDF chief said there was no security reason for remaining in the Philadelphi Corridor,” according to local media.
Gallant also said that Netanyahu has the final say in negotiations for a hostage exchange with Hamas and that both he and military leaders believed as early as July that the timing was optimal for a deal, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Netanyahu announced Gallant’s dismissal on Tuesday night, after months of rumors about his intention to remove one of his most powerful ministers, who had opposed him on issues such as the management of the war in Gaza, negotiations for the release of hostages, and military exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews.
On the night of his dismissal, Gallant gave a speech in which he stated that the main reason for his firing was his “strong stance on universal conscription (including for ultra-Orthodox Jews), his commitment to rescuing the hostages, and the need for a state commission of inquiry into Oct. 7.”
Israel Katz, the current foreign affairs minister, will replace Gallant as defense minister, and Netanyahu’s former ally Gideon Saar, who joined the coalition government with a ministerial post at the end of September, is expected to take over Katz’s position.
Major Israeli media interpret Netanyahu’s decision as an attempt to consolidate his power over the country at a time when Israeli forces are conducting two parallel offensives (in Gaza and Lebanon) and tensions with Iran and its proxies continue to rise. EFE
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