Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reversed course and brought Yoav Gallant back as Minister of Defense just over two weeks after firing Gallant for publicly criticizing his judicial proposals.
Gallant's sacking proved to be every bit as unpopular as Netanyahu's attempt to shred Israel's judiciary of its independence. There has also been a surge of terrorist attacks in Tel Aviv and the West Bank as well as missiles being launched into Israel from Gaza, Lebanon and Syria all occurring during Passover.
What this tells me is that Bibi's right-wing coalition government has a very weak bench. The fact that Bibi did an about face and brought back Gallant indicates no one else in the coalition is capable of overseeing Israel's military. This is not a comforting thought, nor does it inspire confidence that Bibi fired Gallant in the first place.
So let's say Gallant helps restore order. Then what? There remains the issue of Israel's judicial independence. Does Gallant back off? Do Bibi and Gallant agree to disagree? Or will their differences resurface with Bibi firing him again? If Bibi fires Gallant again then would he, heaven forbid, give Itamar Ben-Gvir control of the military on top of the police? If that came to pass then Netanyahu would sink even further in the polls than he has already and perhaps his coalition would collapse forcing Israel's sixth election in four years.
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