After speaking out against contentious measures to reform the justice system, Israel’s defense minister was fired.
Yoav Gallant was called into a meeting by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who informed him that he had lost confidence in him as the defense minister.
Months of protests followed the proposal to curtail the judiciary’s authority.
Following Mr. Gallant’s firing, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets again on Sunday night.
Near Mr. Netanyahu’s home in Jerusalem, police and military used water cannons to disperse protesters.
The protest’s organizers charge Mr. Netanyahu with acting like a despot and jeopardizing Israel’s security.
Many people are outraged by the new law because they believe it serves the interests of the current leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, and makes it more difficult for courts to remove a leader who is found unsuitable for office.
The opposition leader, Yair Lapid, called the firing of Mr. Gallant a “new low” for the government, while Mr. Gallant himself called the proposed law a “immediate and tangible danger” to national security.
On Saturday night, Mr. Gallant made a brief, televised statement in which he claimed that the Israeli Defense Forces were enraged and dissatisfied with a level of intensity he had never seen before.
The state of Israel’s security has always been and will always be my life’s objective, Mr. Gallant tweeted shortly after being fired a day later.
those fellow Likud party members of Mr. Netanyahu’s supported the defense minister, but those on the extreme right wanted him to go.
The bill is a controversial component of the right-wing coalition government’s strategy to curtail the judiciary’s authority.
He has stated that the Knesset will approve the measures, which would grant the government complete power over the committee responsible for selecting judges.
Netanyahu’s decision was backed by far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who said, “The prime minister decided on the necessary step and I congratulate him for that.”
It includes allowing parliament to overturn Supreme Court rulings, a move that some claim will erode the judiciary’s independence and could be exploited for political purposes.
But Mr. Netanyahu claims that the reforms were approved by the electorate in the most recent election and are intended to prevent the judges from abusing their authority.
Yair Lapid, the head of Israel’s opposition, called Mr. Gallant’s dismissal “a new low” for the administration.
Mr. Lapid continued, “Netanyahu may fire Gallant, but he can’t fire reality or the Israelis who are standing up to oppose the coalition’s lunacy.
Benny Gantz, a former defense minister, lauded Mr. Gallant for prioritizing national security over all other considerations.
