Israel’s Netanyahu puts defence minister’s sacking on hold

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will delay the dismissal of his defence chief, announced over a week ago after the minister called for a halt to the government’s flagship justice overhaul, a source close the matter said on Monday.

“In light of the ongoing security situation, Prime Minister Netanyahu will only [make a decision] regarding the defense minister at a later date,” the statement read, without elaborating on the nature of the security situation.

Netanyahu’s office announced last Sunday that the premier had decided to fire Gallant after the latter called on the government a day earlier to halt its judicial overhaul and warned that opposition to it had “penetrated the IDF and security agencies,” impacting their operational capacity. Despite the announcement, Netanyahu never submitted a formal letter of dismissal required for the decision to be finalized.