Yoav Gallant

Wikipedia

Yoav Gallant is an Israeli politician and former military officer who served as minister of defense between 2022 and 2024. Gallant was an officer in the Southern Command of the Israel Defense Forces, serving in the Israeli Navy. In January 2015 he entered politics, joining the new Kulanu party. After being elected to the Knesset he was appointed minister of construction. At the end of 2018 he joined Likud, shortly after which he became minister of Aliyah and Integration. In 2020 he was appointed minister of education, and the following year became minister of defense. On 5 November 2024, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had dismissed Gallant, effective 7 November, and sought to have Israel Katz replace him. Gallant subsequently resigned from the Knesset on 5 January 2025.

Standing...

Stories...

Far Left
The fired defense minister is publicly demanding a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 failures.
Hadash sees his demand as useful pressure on Netanyahu, but notes he shares responsibility for the devastating war policy he helped execute in Gaza.
Lean Left
The defense minister is publicly warning that a broad Haredi exemption would break the army's personnel lines.
The left respects his warning but still holds him responsible for backing the Gaza offensive that has killed thousands of civilians.
Far Left
Gallant is publicly warning that domestic political purges are eroding the army's cohesion and readiness.
Hadash agrees with his warnings but notes he was a key architect of the Gaza war policies it opposes.
Lean Left
Struggles with Netanyahu over exemptions for ultra-Orthodox enlisting while pressing for a hostage deal.
Labor/Meretz see Gallant as the least ideological coalition member, but doubt he will ever break with a government moving toward authoritarianism.
Far Left
Defense minister publicly clashing with Netanyahu over the Haredi draft bill and the lack of a postwar plan for Gaza.
Hadash notes that Gallant's opposition is tactical not moral, since he still commands a war that is killing thousands in Gaza.
Lean Left
Defense Minister Gallant faces the same ICC warrant and warns publicly of the risks of endless war in Gaza.
The left praises Gallant's reservations about the war's outcome but criticizes his inconsistent pursuit of a state commission of inquiry.
Far Left
The former defense minister is in the news for warning that extreme policies in the West Bank and the military draft crisis are damaging Israel's security and society.
Hadash is wary, since Gallant still defends the occupation system, but sees his warnings as evidence that even mainstream security figures are alarmed by this government.
Far Left
The defense minister took the rare step of publicly opposing the Haredi draft law and demanding a post-war plan for Gaza.
Hadash welcomes Gallant's rebellion as exposing the coalition's inner rot, even though Gallant himself as war minister shares responsibility for Gaza's destruction.
Lean Left
Gallant is publicly opposing the coalition's proposed conscription law and warning about the danger of Israeli society breaking apart over the draft issue.
For Labor and Meretz, Gallant is being tested as the only Likud figure who took a stand against the Haredi draft law and a possible hostage deal sabotaged by the far right.
Far Left
He remains vocal after his dismissal, attacking Netanyahu's judicial coup and warning that Haredi draft exemption destroys the Israel Defense Forces.
Hadash notes that Gallant's resistance is purely institutional and that he supports the same Gaza war crimes he once authorized.

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