Galant announces his resignation from the Israeli Knesset and remains in the Likud party

Former Israeli Minister of Security, Yoav Galant, announced in a speech he gave on Wednesday evening his resignation from the Knesset, indicating that he will submit his letter of resignation to the Speaker of the Knesset soon.

He also strongly attacked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stressing that his government is working to enact a law that contradicts the needs of the army.

“I was dismissed from my position as Minister of Security because I worked for the good of the country,” Galant said, attacking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently dismissed him from his position.

He stressed that recruiting the Haredim is a necessary security need.

In the same context, he stressed that Netanyahu’s government is working to enact a law that contradicts the needs of the Israeli army.

Galant said that what happened during his term exposed every point in Iran to a possible Israeli attack.

“I’ll soon submit my decision to end my position in the 25th Knesset, after 45 years of service, 35 years in the IDF, a decade of work as a member of Knesset and a minister in Israeli governments, including two dramatic years as Minister of Defense, and as a member of the Likud movement, I will continue to fight for the path of the movement,” Galant said.

He added, “This is a station in a long journey that hasn’t yet been completed; and as is the case on the battlefield, so too in public service, there are moments when it is necessary to stop in order to reach the desired goals, and my path is the path of the Likud, and I believe in its principles, and I trust its members and voters”.

Galant listed what he sees as his achievements, especially during his tenure as Minister of Security, during the war on Gaza, and said, “I led the security system during 13 months of war, which allowed Israel to reach a military decision in the war on seven fronts”.

He stated, “in Gaza, we succeeded in eliminating the Hamas leadership, which stopped operating as a military organization”.

Galant considered that the security apparatus, under his leadership, prepared the conditions to achieve all the goals of the war, the most important of which is the return of the kidnapped (Israeli prisoners held in Gaza), and this is a supreme moral duty, and without its completion, victory won’t be achieved.

He added, “Throughout the war, I have insisted on continuing and deepening the strategic partnership with our great ally, the United States… Under the difficult circumstances of the war, and even in times of political disagreement, there is no alternative to this alliance, which provides us with military aid, international support, and creates deterrence in the Middle East”.

He continued, “At the beginning of my duties as Minister of Security, during the days of ‘judicial reform,’ I made it clear that we were facing unprecedented security challenges, and I stressed along the way the need to deal with the internal divisions that constitute a weak point and a clear and immediate danger to Israel’s security”.

“As defense minister during a difficult and long-term war, I understood that the issue of recruiting Haredim isn’t just a social issue, but first and foremost a necessary security and military need,” Galant said.

He added, “Therefore, I worked for equal employment for all those who are required to enlist, and because of my position for the benefit of the State of Israel and the needs of the Israeli army, I was dismissed from the position of Minister of Defense”.

“In the last two months since I was dismissed as defense minister, something has happened… The Israeli government, led by the prime minister and the defense minister (whom Netanyahu appointed as his successor; Israel Katz), is working to accelerate the conscription law that contradicts the needs of the Israeli army,” he said.

He stated that “the bill aims to grant an exemption from military service, and I cannot accept that, nor can I be part of it,” adding that “the right to live in security embodies in itself the duty to bear the security burden”.

The former security minister said that he was responsible for everything that happened from the beginning of his term in the months preceding the war, until its end, more than a year after the war began.