Following his predecessor’s abrupt removal by the prime minister due to a breakdown in trust during the Gaza War, Israel Katz, the country’s new defence minister, was sworn in before parliament on Thursday.
Following repeated disagreements on Israel’s retaliatory military campaign against Hamas in the wake of the Palestinian militant group’s deadly October 7 attack on Israel last year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Yoav Gallant on Tuesday.
Katz, who swore to destroy Israel’s enemies, served as foreign minister prior to Gallant’s appointment, and Gideon Saar was chosen as his successor.
A diplomatic incident involving Israeli police entering a French-owned church site in Jerusalem and temporarily detaining two gendarmes tainted Katz’s final day as foreign minister.
A planned visit to the Eleona church compound in annexed east Jerusalem was cancelled by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot as a result of the event.
While acknowledging that “Israel has the right to defend itself,” Barrot cited “colonisation,” “restrictions on humanitarian aid,” and “the continuation of air strikes in north Gaza” as threats to Israel’s security in a Thursday speech with Katz.
Thousands of Israelis demonstrated in the streets as opposition leaders from all political stripes denounced Netanyahu’s decision to dismiss the defence minister during the battle.
Gallant and Netanyahu had been at odds over the question of ultra-Orthodox men’s exemption from military duty.
The fired minister had been a leading proponent of calling up ultra-Orthodox Jews, but Netanyahu wished to keep them exempt out of concern that their conscription would cause his far-right coalition government to fall apart.
