Yoav Gallant resigns from Israeli parliament

Israel’s former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced his resignation from the Knesset on Wednesday in a televised statement, nearly two months after he was removed from his post by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In his statement, Gallant cited a law being promoted by the Israeli government that would exempt draft-age ultra-Orthodox men from the country’s mandatory military service.

“My way is the way of Likud,” Gallant said, referring to his political party and Netanyahu’s, as reported by Haaretz.

“I believe in its principles and trust the members and voters of the Likud movement,” he added.

In response to his announcement, opposition leader Yair Lapid attacked the government’s push to pass a bill exempting ultra-Orthodox men from military service.

“Gallant told the simple truth today: He was fired to pass a disgraceful evasion and insubordination law that is a betrayal of our fighters, our dead, and our wounded,” Lapid said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Meanwhile, Benny Gantz of the National Unity party urged Gallant against resigning from politics, calling him a “brave man”.

“As long as the government has not gone to elections…you must show the same courage you have always shown, remain in the Knesset, and act according to the dictates of your conscience. Do not lend a hand to passing the evasion law during wartime,” Gantz said on X.

On November 5, Netanyahu fired Gallant from his post as defence minister, citing a lack of mutual trust that had grown since Israel launched its wars on Gaza and Lebanon.

Gallant, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party since 2019, was replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz.