Israeli Withdrawal as Netanyahu Fires Defense Minister

The Israeli army withdrew several brigades from southern Lebanon amid expectations of a possible ceasefire soon, according to Israeli media on Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

Middle East Monitor – Nov 5, 2024

The brigades were withdrawn for refresher training based on an assessment of officials participating in ceasefire negotiations that a deal could be reached within a week and a half to two weeks, the Israeli daily, Yedioth Ahronoth, reported.

The newspaper did not specify the number of brigades that had been withdrawn from southern Lebanon.

“Ground operations are expected to continue for a few more weeks, while the Israeli army awaits a decision from the political leadership,” it said.

The daily reported progress regarding a supplementary document to the ceasefire agreement.

“This document would guarantee Israel freedom of military action in southern Lebanon should the ceasefire mechanism fail,” it claimed.

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the report.

On Monday, Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, said that Israel had rejected all proposed solutions for a ceasefire as it continued its attacks across Lebanon.

The Israeli public broadcaster, KAN, said on Friday that the army was nearing the end of the intensive phase of its ground operation in southern Lebanon and was preparing for redeployment amid ceasefire talks.

Israel has escalated its air campaign in Lebanon since late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets in an escalation from year-long cross-border warfare between Israel and the Lebanese group since the start of Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip.

More than 3,000 people have been killed and nearly 13,500 injured in Israeli attacks since October 2023, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Israel expanded the conflict by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon on 1 October this year.

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Netanyahu Fires Gallant

Times of Israel – Nov 5, 2024

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday evening, citing a lack of mutual trust during a time of war as his reason for doing so.

Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, while Minister without Portfolio Gideon Sa’ar will replace Katz in the Foreign Ministry.

In a terse letter that the Prime Minister’s Office said was handed to Gallant during an 8 p.m. meeting, Netanyahu informed him that his tenure would end “48 hours from the receipt of this letter.”

“I would like to thank you for your service as defense minister,” the one-sentence letter concluded.

Following the brief interaction, Netanyahu left the room and recorded the video in which he announced the firing of his longtime Likud party rival, Channel 12 news reported.

“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 defense minister,” said Netanyahu in the video statement.

He said that the two disagreed on the management of the war, and that Gallant had made decisions and statements that contradicted cabinet decisions.

The premier 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.”

The “crisis of faith” with the defense minister “does not enable the proper continuation of the [military] campaign,” Netanyahu continued.

He said that most members of the government and cabinet were in agreement with him “that this cannot continue. In light of this, I decided today to end the tenure of the defense minister.”

Tuesday’s announcement is the second time in under two years that Netanyahu has fired Gallant from the post of defense minister.

In March 2023, Netanyahu fired Gallant a day after the latter called for pausing the legislation process of the government’s contentious judicial overhaul plans, which he said caused divisions that posed a threat to Israel’s security.

He was reinstated less than a month later, however, and was at the helm of the Defense Ministry when Hamas committed its deadly terror assault in southern Israel on October 7 last year and remained in his post throughout the subsequent war in the Gaza Strip, the fighting on the northern border and the ground operation in southern Lebanon.

Following his dismissal on Tuesday, Gallant issued a one-line statement of his own, writing on X that “the security of the State of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life’s mission.”

The statement was identical to the one he published on the night of his first firing, 18 months ago.

He elaborated at a press conference later on Tuesday night, where he appeared visibly emotional as he explained that the reason for his dismissal was threefold: The need to draft Haredi men to the IDF, the imperative to bring back the hostages from Gaza, and the need for a state commission of inquiry in the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught and ensuing war.

The issue of the Haredi draft, he said, “isn’t only a social one, but is a topic central to our existence — the security of Israel and the nation that sits in Zion.”

Israel will be facing complex challenges in the coming years, he said. “In these circumstances, there is no choice. Everyone must serve in the IDF, and participate in the mission of defending Israel.”

The “discriminatory, corrupt law” on Haredi enlistment must not be allowed to pass, he warned, referring to legislation being pushed by Haredi parties United Torah Judaism and Shas which would preserve the exemption of ultra-Orthodox males from military service after the High Court ruled earlier this year that there was no longer any legal framework allowing the state to refrain from drafting them.

Gallant has opposed the legislation, putting him at odds with the Haredi parties, both of which have demanded it be pushed through as a matter of priority and have said they are prepared to topple the coalition should it not pass into law.

The second issue, Gallant said, was the matter of a hostage deal.

He hinted strongly that Israel should be prioritizing a deal to get the 101 remaining hostages out of Gaza, even if doing so would mean Hamas remains in the Strip.

“Whoever dies among the hostages can never be returned. There isn’t and will never be atonement for abandoning the hostages,” he said. “It will become a mark of Cain on the forehead of Israeli society, and on those who are leading this mistaken path.”

Finally, he called for a government investigation into the October 7 Hamas terror assault, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were seized as hostages as terrorists rampaged through dozens of southern Israel communities.

Citing the need to get at the truth and extract military, political and security lessons, Gallant warned that this was the only way to prepare Israeli forces for future challenges.

Choking back tears, he said that Israel’s security has been his life’s mission.

He praised the war efforts over the last year, saying that Israel had “struck in Gaza and Lebanon” and fought back against terrorism in the West Bank.

“We eliminated terror leaders in the world and across the Middle East. We operated for the first time in a precise, lethal and swift strike in Iran,” he said. “Since October 7th, I’ve focused on one mission — victory in the war.”

He then warned of “a moral darkness” that has descended on the country, without mentioning Netanyahu…READ MORE: Netanyahu fires Gallant, saying disagreements and lack of mutual trust helped the enemy | The Times of Israel

Martin comments: Ceasefire imminent? Surely not. And right on cue as Trump wins the election by a landslide. Almost…as if it were all planned and synchronized. Nah, just coincidence.