Israel defense minister’s firing triggers security fears, reservist call-ups and pause to Bibi’s plans

UPDATED 3/27/23 at 2:05 pm ET following Netanyahu’s speech.

TEL AVIV — Sunday’s shocking ouster of Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resulted in massive demonstrations all over the country and triggered a raising of the alert level of some Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) combat units, primarily in the air force and special operations communities.

A day after Gallant, a retired army general, became the first member Netanyahu’s government to call for a halt to plans to effectively override the power of the country’s supreme court, Netanyahu announced his intention to remove the minister. Gallant, a prominent figure in the governing Likud party, cited potential damage to Israel’s security from the judicial reform push.

The defense minister’s firing seems to have served as a final straw in the staredown between Netanyahu and his opponents, with reports emerging that the man called Bibi may back down, at least temporarily, from his push. Hours after Gallant’s dismissal, Israel’s largest labor union announced a general strike, shutting down huge chunks of the government bureaucracy and public sectors — including the Israeli embassy in Washington.

Finally, in an address to the nation, Netanyahu himself temporarily backed down, announcing in a Monday night speech that he would pause his plan and take it up again in July. However, there are no indications that Gallant will be kept in his role, and it is unclear who his successor might be.

Gallant has reason for concerns over Israel’s security. In recent weeks, as nation-wide protests began over Netanyahu’s plans to overhaul judicial appointments and give parliament the ability to override the supreme court, many reserve military personnel including fighter pilots began stating that they will not volunteer for reserve service in their units if the laws went through. Israel relies heavily on reservists as part of its security forces.

An hour after Netanyahu declared his decision to dismiss the defense minister, many reserve soldiers and officers received messages to get to their units via government-issued texts. This activation, sources said, stemmed from fears within Jerusalem that Israel’s enemies will look at the chaos inside the country and see it as an opportunity to strike.

Eitan Dangot, a retired Maj. Gen. who served as Coordinator of Israeli Government Activities in the Territories was Military Secretary to three ministers of defense, and chief of the Home Front Command, told Breaking Defense that “Gallant is the right man for this position at this point in time. He has a vast military experience and managed to build good relations with the American defense establishment.”

Still, Dangot downplayed immediate concerns about reservists, saying he was confident that in a state of emergency even the reservists that declared they won’t volunteer anymore will fulfill their combat duties.

“The problem is the door that has been opened and may create processes that may affect the IDF long run,” Dangot said. “The duty of the commanding officers now is to talk with their soldiers and analyze what happened and how to avoid a long-term erosion in of the unit’s preparedness.”

The internal strife has been noticed by Israel’s closest ally as well. After Gallant’s dismissal, a White House spokesperson issued a statement saying the Biden administration is “deeply concerned” by that day’s events, noting that “As the President recently discussed with Prime Minister Netanyahu, democratic values have always been, and must remain, a hallmark of the U.S.-Israel relationship.  Democratic societies are strengthened by checks and balances, and fundamental changes to a democratic system should be pursued with the broadest possible base of popular support.”

One IDF source said that American military personnel whom they have met with in recent weeks have uniformly expressed “complete shock” over the recent events, given Israel’s longstanding societal stability, especially compared to the rest of the region.

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The Israeli defense establishment was surprised by Gallant’s dismissal, as sources say the IDF chief of general staff, the head of the Mossad and the head of the general security service have all met recently with Netanyahu to warn him about the implications of the plan to change the democratic basis of Israel. There was an expectation in the defense establishment that concern from those voices would cause Netanyahu to slow things down, or at least cause increased pushback in the Knesset, the Israel parliament.

While some of those defense establishment voices have been quietly working behind the scenes others have been more vocal. Nadav Argaman, the former director-general of the Israeli general security service, warned two weeks ago that the government’s proposal to reform the legal system could cause the security organization he previously oversaw to “collapse from within.”

“The main concern is that if these laws are approved, the State of Israel will be on the verge of totalitarianism. And when the State of Israel is on the verge of becoming a dictatorship, we might witness the internal disintegration of the security agencies,” Argaman said in an interview on Israeli Channel 12’s investigative Uvda show.

Giora Eiland, a former head of the Israeli National Security Council, told Breaking Defense that Gallant was fired only because he fulfilled his duty  and conveyed his concerns to the prime minister. “What we see here is the lack of judgment, an attitude of a Caesar and that is a reason for grave concern,” he said.

Dany Yatom, a former head of the Mossad told Breaking Defense that Gallant’s dismissal is a good reason to declare that Netanyahu is unable to perform his job.

“Israel’s security is deteriorating, and Gallant presented the situation in detail to Bibi.  He [Netanyahu] refused to understand the severity of the situation and that forced Gallant to address the public,” Yatom said. “If the prime minister does not have confidence in his defense minister and the heads of the security organizations, this is the breaking point. Such a situation brings our enemies to think they can attack us. I don’t remember such a severe and strange situation in the 75 years of Israel.”

Tal Rousso, a retired Maj. Gen., told Breaking Defense that if Netanyahu would reverse course and keep Gallant, it could help keep the military’s spirit intact.

“I hope that the defense minister will stay in office and that will help the Israeli defense forces to make the needed actions to return to its former spirit that is needed to protect the country from growing threats,” said Rousso, who served in many commanding positions in the Israeli defense forces, among them the commander of Southern Command and head of the IDF operations directorate.