Netanyahu considers coalition agreement that would force Defense Minister Gallant out of office

(Bloomberg) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in talks to add an opposition lawmaker to his cabinet, a move that could lead to the dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, with whom he has frequently clashed over the Gaza war, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Netanyahu is negotiating with Gideon Saar, who wants the defense role in exchange for joining the ruling coalition, one of the people said. Netanyahu is considering whether to accept that and remove Gallant from his key post, the person said, at a time when Israel is waging war against Hamas in Gaza and is engaged in daily skirmishes with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

Gallant criticized Netanyahu for not agreeing to a ceasefire with Hamas to secure the release of the hostages and for not doing more to allow Haredi or ultra-Orthodox Jews to serve in the military, as the country’s Supreme Court recently ruled.

Saar, a veteran lawmaker, would strengthen Netanyahu’s government, as his party has four members in the 120-seat parliament (Knesset). Her entry would give the ruling coalition – the most nationalist in Israel’s history – 68 seats and give Netanyahu a bigger buffer should one party threaten a rebellion. Netanyahu and Gallant are both members of the Likud party.

Moreover, Saar is unlikely to call for strict enforcement of the court ruling on the Haredim. The issue is particularly sensitive for Netanyahu because the Haredi parties in his coalition do not want to lift the decades-old exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service, even though many generals argue that this is now necessary to ensure Israel’s security.

Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Monday that he was not in negotiations with Saar, without citing Gallant. Saar did not return calls to his cellphone.

Israeli markets weakened after local media reported that Gallant might be fired. The shekel fell 0.6 percent to 3.74 per dollar at 8 p.m. in Tel Aviv, one of the worst performances globally. Yields on local currency government bonds rose.

The defense secretary had open channels with the Pentagon and spoke with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Sunday evening. That relationship has helped the Israeli-American alliance weather tensions between Netanyahu and President Joe Biden over the Gaza conflict. Israeli polls have shown Gallant to be generally more popular than the prime minister.

Gallant offered a sense of normalcy on Monday, including a meeting with Amos Hochstein, one of Biden’s top Middle East advisers, in Tel Aviv. Gallant told Hochstein that the Israeli military would likely need to act more aggressively to push back Iran-backed Hezbollah from Israel’s northern border. Netanyahu met separately with Hochstein.

The most recent disagreement between Gallant and Netanyahu occurred in late August. Gallant was the only member of the 10-member security cabinet to vote against maintaining Israel’s military presence in the so-called Philadelphia Corridor in Gaza. Netanyahu’s insistence that troops remain in the corridor, which runs along the Gaza-Egypt border, has angered Hamas and Cairo and proved to be a major sticking point in the ceasefire talks.

Gallant, a retired admiral, also crossed swords with Netanyahu last year over a controversial judicial reform plan pushed by the prime minister. Gallant noted that some anti-government protesters were threatening to skip military service and publicly warned that Israel’s war readiness was being undermined. Netanyahu announced Gallant’s dismissal, but reversed it after a wave of street demonstrations.

“Political machinations”

Benny Gantz, another opposition leader who left Israel’s emergency government in June after disputes with Netanyahu, said the prime minister’s political survival was more important than returning the hostages, defeating Hamas and dealing with Hezbollah.

“He is busy with nefarious political machinations and replacing the defense minister ahead of an intensive military campaign in the north,” Gantz posted on X on Monday. “This shows a lack of judgment.”

Yair Lapid, the centrist opposition leader, said in Washington on Monday after a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Gallant is “doing a good job under terrible circumstances” and expressed hope that Netanyahu would keep him on board.

Saar has held cabinet posts in previous Netanyahu governments. After a failed attempt to oust Netanyahu as Likud leader in 2019, Saar founded the New Hope party and later allied himself with Gantz.

Together with Gantz, Saar formed the emergency government with Netanyahu after the October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the Gaza war. In March, Saar split from Gantz and withdrew from the government, complaining about his exclusion from the small war cabinet that made day-to-day decisions.

Saar’s military experience is limited to a period as an infantry recruit. He is a trained lawyer and former assistant to the Attorney General.

– With support from Iain Marlow.

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