JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who has often taken an independent position against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies in the government, said on Wednesday he was resigning from parliament.
Netanyahu fired Gallant from the cabinet in November after months of disagreements over the conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza, but he kept his seat as an elected member of the Knesset.
“As it is on the battlefield, so it is in public service. There are moments when you have to stop, assess and choose a direction to achieve your goals,” Gallant said in a televised statement.
Gallant has often broken ranks with Netanyahu and his coalition allies of far-right and religious parties, including over the hot-button issue of exemptions given to ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service.
In March 2023, Netanyahu fired Gallant after he called for a halt to a highly contested government plan to reduce the Supreme Court’s powers. His dismissal sparked mass protests and Netanyahu stepped down.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Gallant and Netanyahu, along with the Hamas leader, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict, which Israel disputed.
(This story has been edited to correct the headline to read ‘parliament’ instead of ‘politics’)
