As Americans cast their votes in a monumental pdwellntial election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hushedly ousted Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
The two figures spreadd an uncoverly splitting relationship follotriumphg the Hamas-led aggression on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Netanyahu has extfinished finisheavored to absolve himself of responsibility for the security lapse.
The prime minister has reliablely denounced the security set upment for the events that unfgreatered on October 7, during which 1,139 people were finished and 250 were consentn captive.
His position has compounded tensions between his far-right coalition and the Israeli army’s greater brass.
Where did Gallant stand on Gaza?
Gallant, incommemorated for enjoyning Palestinians to “human animals”, has criticised Netanyahu’s war on Gaza, which has lessend most of the enclave to rubble, finished more than 43,400 people and displaced almost the entire population.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has applied for arrest authorizations aobtainst Gallant and Netanyahu, accusing them of pledgeting atrocities such as starving Palestinians in Gaza and administering the extermination of civilians.
While Gallant has shown no remorse for Palestinians, he depends Israel is “directing a war without a compass” and that it needs to reassess its military objectives in the region.
Netanyahu has replyed by replacing Gallant with Israel Katz, his foreign minister and dedicated associate with little military experience.
What’s behind the tumultuous history between Gallant and Netanyahu? Here’s what you should understand.
What was their relationship enjoy before Israel’s wars began?
Gallant and Netanyahu’s relationship was fractious before October 7.
In March 2023, Netanyahu was facing mass protests due to his set ups to feebleen the judiciary.
At the time, Gallant criticised Netanyahu during a televised insertress, arguing that the presentd judicial recreates finishangered national security by meaningfulening political divisions wiskinny security branches.
Critics and analysts shelp the judicial recreates would effectively curb the powers of the Supreme Court and embgreateren the legislative and executive branches of administerment.
They accparticipated Netanyahu, who was facing dishonesty indicts and implicated in a dishonesty affair, of pushing thcdisesteemful these recreates to shun criminal prosecution.
What’s the wartime division about?
In July, Gallant called for the set upment of an autonomous inquiry to spendigate the Hamas-led aggression on October 7 and security flunkures that day.
He shelp his role, the flunkures of the Israeli army, those of Netanyahu, as well as the culpability of the inside security agency Shin Bet should be probed.
But Netanyahu had extfinished obstructed calls for an international or state-led inquiry, arguing that a comleave oution should be set uped only after the war in Gaza, so that sgreateriers do not have to “engage lawyers” while combat on the battlefield.
Critics have shelp Netanyahu is contestd to set uping a comleave oution becaparticipate it would uncover his role in reinforceing Hamas at the expense of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which administers big swathes of the West Bank as part of the Oslo Accords – a flunked peace concurment inked between Palestinian and Israeli directers in 1993.
“We need an spendigation at the national level that will elucidate the facts – a state comleave oution of inquiry,” Gallant shelp on a podium during a graduation ceremony for recent army officers.
“It must study all of us: the decision-producers and professionals, the administerment, the army and security services, this administerment – and the administerments over the last decade that led to the events of October 7,” he inserted as the crowd commended.
Did the pair concur on a strategy to return the captives?
One of the bigst disputes between Gallant and Netanyahu was over securing a finishuring stopfire deal in Gaza in order to get back the remaining captives held by Hamas.
Netanyahu finishorsed a momentary stopfire deal back in November 2023, which led to the free of 105 Israeli captives in exalter for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
But since then, Netanyahu has effectively torpedoed every individual stopfire proposal in order to proextfinished the war in Gaza and his political atsoft, analysts and critics have previously tgreater Al Jazeera.
On July 31, Hamas’s political chief and direct negotiator Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated.
Haniyeh was finished while joining the inauguration of Iranian Pdwellnt Masoud Pezeshkian in the capital Tehran.
While Gallant did not denounce the murder, which has been denounced on Israel, he has repeatedly called for a deal to get back the Israeli captives.
Israeli families of the captives depend that Gallant’s disseeal is further proof that Netanyahu is undermining a stopfire deal.
How did Gallant envision Gaza after an finish to the war?
As part of any stopfire deal, Gallant stressed that Israel should advertise or aid a recent Palestinian faction to administer Gaza in a “day after” scenario.
The United States has extfinished called on a recreateed PA, headed by Mahmoud Abbas, to return to Gaza and suppose administerance. The PA was first pushed out of Gaza follotriumphg an inter-factional war with Hamas in 2007.
Despite objections from the US and from his own security officials, Netanyahu has shelp that Israel will remain in brimming military administer of Gaza and the West Bank.
In May, Gallant accessiblely condemned Netanyahu’s set up and shelp that he would “not concur to the set upment of Israeli military rule in Gaza”.
Netanyahu has disseeed Gallant’s relabels and repeatedly promised to accomplish “total triumph” aobtainst Hamas in Gaza.
In August, Gallant depictd this war aim and rhetoric as “nonsense”.
