JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday evening that he was removing Defence Minister Yoav Gallant from his position and replacing him with Israel Katz, citing a "crisis of trust" that "gradually deepened".
The move is a stunning shift after the Prime Minister nearly made a similar move in September but made an about-turn.
In a terse letter released by the Prime Minister's office, Netanyahu tells Gallant that "your tenure will end 48 hours from the receipt of this letter".
"I would like to thank you for your service as Defence Minister," he concludes.
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz. Minister without Portfolio Gideon Sa'ar will replace Katz as Foreign Minister.
"Unfortunately, although in the first months of the war, there was trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the Defence Minister," said Netanyahu in a video statement.
He said that they disagreed on the management of the war and that Gallant made decisions and statements that contract Cabinet decisions.
Netanyahu also accused Gallant of indirectly aiding Israel's enemies.
"I made many attempts to bridge these gaps, but they kept getting wider," he said.
"They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy -- our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it."
Netanyahu added that most members of the government agree with him.
The decision comes amid stress in Netanyahu's coalition over the draft of ultra-Orthodox leaders.
Gallant on Monday approved the drafting of 7,000 more Haredim into the Israeli Defense Forces IDF.
Following his firing by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in favour of Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Gallant issued a terse statement, saying that "the security of the State of Israel always was, and will always remain my life's mission".
It also comes as Americans head to the polls, and US attention is elsewhere.
Netanyahu first announced that he would fire Gallant after the latter warned in March 2023 that the government's judicial reforms were endangering national security. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in protest in what became known as "the Night of Gallant," and Netanyahu backtracked. The relationship between the Prime Minister and Defence Minister has deteriorated since the outbreak of war on October 7.
Gallant publicly accused Netanyahu of involving political considerations in his decision-making, while Netanyahu accused Gallant of attempting to topple the government from within.
Gallant is also an obstacle to Netanyahu's attempt to obtain a haredi exemption from IDF service, and his removal may contribute to solving this problem for Netanyahu as well.