Gallant, while equally responsible for the butchery in Gaza, is still a professional soldier and political considerations play smaller part in his mind. Netanyahu, on the other hand, knows that any 'victory parade' in Gaza or Beirut or elsewhere will destroy him politically and personally and so a ceasefire is not in his personal interests.
Former defense minister Yoav Gallant reportedly told families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel’s military has no reason to remain in the Strip, and that Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu is keeping soldiers in Gaza “out of a desire to stay there.”
The conversation came hours before his firing went into effect Thursday evening and the Knesset voted to approve the appointment of Israel Katz as the new defense chief.
According to a report on Channel 12, Gallant,
who was abruptly fired from his post by Netanyahu on Tuesday night, told the families that the prime minister is the only one who can decide whether or not to agree on a hostage deal, and that he “tried and failed” to influence the premier on the matter.
“The head of the Shin Bet, the chief of staff, and I think the head of the Mossad, also agreed with me,” Gallant said, explaining that he told Netanyahu that “the conditions were ripe” for a deal in July, and that he and the prime minister have been in conflict about the parameters for a proposal ever since.
The ousted defense chief said that he and IDF chief Herzi Halevi were both skeptical of claims that there were security or diplomatic justifications for leaving troops in the Strip.
“I can tell you what there was not: security considerations. The IDF chief and I said there was
no security reason for remaining in the Philadelphi Corridor,” he reportedly said, referring to the strip of land in Gaza that runs all along the border with Egypt, which Netanyahu has championed as one of the key strategic gains of the war.
“Netanyahu said that [retaining] it was a diplomatic consideration; I’m telling you there was
no diplomatic consideration,” he added, according to the TV report, which was based on accounts from families who attended the meeting. Other Hebrew media outlets published similar accounts of the meeting and Gallant’s comments.
