Netanyahu says Gallant will remain Defence Minister just two weeks after firing him

The prime minister also warned Syrian President Assad that he would 'pay a heavy price' if rockets are fired at Israel again.

Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defence Minister Gallant and IDF chief of staff Herzl Halevi. Credit: Kobi Gideon, GPO.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that Yoav Gallant would remain defence minister just two weeks after firing him. 

“I decided to put our differences aside and to work together on all fronts,” Netanyahu said in a televised speech to the nation about the recently fired defence minister.

According to Channel 12, Gallant hadn’t been informed about Netanyahu’s decision and only learned about it from watching the speech on TV.

Netanyahu also blamed the previous government, led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, for the wave of terrorism that rocked Israel in recent months, killing four people on Friday, including three British family members.

“Under the previous government the number of terror attacks doubled. The previous government handed over gas territory to the enemy without anything in return,” Netanyahu claimed.

The prime minister warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that he would “pay a heavy price” if rockets are fired at Israel again, following six rockets fired overnight Saturday.

While the IDF said last week it only launched airstrikes against Hamas positions in Lebanon, Netanyahu revealed that Hezbollah targets had been hit as well.

read more:
comments