Netanyahu barred Gallant from visiting US twice
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Israeli media revealed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prevented his security minister from visiting the United States twice for meetings.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, attends the weekly cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in occupied Al-Quds, occupied Palestine, April 30, 2023 (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prevented Security Minister Yoav Gallant from going on a trip to the United States twice for official talks, Israeli media reported Wednesday.
Gallant's trip was not supposed to have a certain schedule, as he was simply meant to travel to Washington and New York to fulfill two invitations he had received; however, Netanyahu rebuffed his bids to leave, Israeli Channel 12 reported.
The report underlined that Netanyahu prevented the top security official from going on his trip twice, directing him through his office staff not to travel.
This comes in light of tensions between the premier and his minister over the government's bid to pass the judicial reform law, which brought Israeli settlers to the streets to protest against the plan.
At the height of the protests, Netanyahu announced his intention to dismiss Galant over a divergence in opinions in regard to the judicial reforms and the consequent protests.
Netanyahu wound up sacking Gallant after he demanded in a televised speech an immediate halt to the "judicial overhaul" legislation in order to hold talks with its opponents, warning of its serious repercussions on the Israeli military and security establishments.
Commenting on Gallant's dismissal, former Israeli occupation chief of staff MK Gadi Eisenkot said that Netanyahu proved that "Israel's" security is not his chief priority.
On his part, opposition leader Yair Lapid tweeted that "Netanyahu can fire Gallant, but he can't fire reality and he can't fire the Israelis who are standing up against this coalition's insanity."
Similarly, former Israeli occupation Security Minister, MK Benny Gantz, wrote, "We face a clear and immediate danger to Israel's security," adding, "This evening, Netanyahu put politics and himself above security."
Labor chief Merav Michaeli said that the occupation PM's move shows that "now, more than ever, Netanyahu is very dangerous to Israel."
Commenting on the dismissal of the Israeli security minister, Israeli Channel 12 political affairs correspondent Yaron Avraham said a senior US source described Gallant's dismissal as "the straw that broke the camel's back."
Avraham explained that it showed that Netanyahu was not in control, saying it was the reason that the US ambassador to "Israel" conveyed a message from the US administration that President Biden expected Netanyahu to stop the legislation dead in its tracks.
He said that Gallant's dismissal was a purely internal topic that succeeded to get the Americans involved in internal Israeli deliberations.
