Yoav Gallant | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Gallant in 2023 | |
| Ministerial portfolios | |
| 2015–2019 | Construction |
| 2019–2020 | Aliyah and Integration |
| 2020–2021 | Education |
| 2022–2024 | Defense |
| Faction represented in theKnesset | |
| 2015–2019 | Kulanu |
| 2019–2025 | Likud |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1958-11-08)8 November 1958 (age 66) Jaffa, Israel |
| Education | University of Haifa (BA) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Israel |
| Branch/service | Israeli Navy |
| Years of service | 1977–1982, 1984–2012 |
| Rank | Major general |
| Commands | Southern Command |
| Battles/wars | |
Yoav Gallant (Hebrew:יוֹאָב גָּלַנְט,romanized: Yo'av Galant; born 8 November 1958) is an Israeli politician and former military officer who served asminister of defense between 2022 and 2024. Gallant was an officer in theSouthern Command of theIsrael Defense Forces, serving in theIsraeli Navy. In January 2015 he entered politics, joining the newKulanu party. After being elected to theKnesset he was appointedminister of construction. At the end of 2018 he joinedLikud, shortly after which he becameminister of Aliyah and Integration.In 2020 he was appointedminister of education, and the following year became minister of defense. On 5 November 2024, Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu announced that he had dismissed Gallant, effective 7 November, and sought to haveIsrael Katz replace him.[1] Gallant subsequently resigned from the Knesset on 5 January 2025.
On 21 November 2024, theInternational Criminal Courtissued an arrest warrant for Gallant along with Netanyahu and threeHamas leaders for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during theGaza war.[2]
Yoav Gallant was born on 8 November 1958[3] inJaffa to Polish Jewish immigrants. His mother, Fruma, was aHolocaust survivor who had been on theSSExodus as a child.[4] Along with otherExodus refugees, she was deported by the British toHamburg, and arrived in Israel in 1948. She was a nurse by profession. His father, Michael, fought the Nazis as a partisan in the forests of Ukraine and Belarus, and also immigrated to Israel in 1948. He served in theGivati Brigade in the1948 Arab–Israeli War, including theSamson's Foxes unit, and was considered one of the finest snipers in the IDF. He participated inOperation Yoav, during which he was the first soldier to break into the fort atIraq Suwaydan.[5] He named his son for the operation.[6] In Gallant's youth, the family moved toGivatayim, where he studied at David Kalai High School. He received aB.A. in business and finance management from theUniversity of Haifa.[7]
Gallant lives inmoshavAmikam. He is married to Claudine, a retired IDF Lieutenant Colonel. They have a son and two daughters.[6]
In 2011, Gallant was tapped to succeedGabi Ashkenazi as theChief of General Staff byDefense MinisterEhud Barak. Although his appointment was approved by the government[8][9] it was overturned due to allegations of building of an unauthorized access road to his home and planting an olive grove on public land outside the boundaries of his property.
.jpg)
Gallant began his military career in 1977 as a naval commando inShayetet 13.[7] In the 1980s, after six years of active service, he moved toAlaska and worked as alumberjack.[10] He then returned to the navy and served on a missile boat (including a position as deputy-commander of INSKeshet)[11] and again in Shayetet 13. In 1992, Gallant was earmarked by then-navy commanderAmi Ayalon for the command of Shayetet 13, a position he was meant to take up in 1994. Gallant preferred not to study during the two remaining years, and instead moved into the ground forces and in 1993 took up command of theMenashe Territorial Brigade of theJudea and Samaria Division.[6]
After serving for three years as commander of Shayetet 13, Gallant moved up to command theGaza Division.[6] He also commanded the reserve 340th Armored Division (Idan Formation),[12] and in 2001 became the chief of staff of theGOC Army Headquarters.[13] Gallant attained the rank of a major general when he became the military secretary of theprime minister in 2002.[6]
In 2005, Gallant was appointed as commander of theSouthern Command.[6] During his tenure (that lasted until 21 October 2010),Hamas launched the 25 June2006 Gaza cross-border raid that resulted in the deaths of two IDF soldiers and the capture of a third,Gilad Shalit. The IDF then launchedOperation Summer Rains, that resulted in a decrease of Hamas rocket-fire for some time but failed to free Shalit. Also during his tenure, the Israel Defense Forces embarked onOperation Cast Lead against Hamas in theGaza Strip from December 2008 until January 2009, which again temporarily minimized Hamas rocket-fire but also again failed to find and deliver Shalit, who would be eventuallyexchanged in 2011 for 1,027 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Gallant commanded the operation and his role in the field and in what was at that time considered the success of the operation gained praise and helped him in the race to chief of staff.[7] However, Gallant and the IDF were criticized for the implementation of theDahiya doctrine of widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure in theGaza War of 2008–09, with theGoldstone Report concluding that the Israeli strategy was "designed to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian population".[14][15][16][17][18][19]
Israeli NGOYesh Gvul filed suit against Gallant's appointment as IDF chief of staff, claiming that his command role in Cast Lead confirmed him as a suspect in "grave violations of international law."[20]Haaretz noted that Gallant lobbied against an investigation of Col. Ilan Malka, the IDF commander who approved the airstrike that killed 21 members of the al-Samouni clan during Cast Lead. Gallant's view was ignored as the military prosecutor general opened an investigation of the incident which was highlighted by theGoldstone Report as a "possible serious breach of international law".[21]
On 22 August 2010 Minister of DefenseEhud Barak presented the candidacy of Gallant for the post of the IDF's twentiethchief of staff to the government.[7] It was expected that he would receive the promotion.[22] Gallant's appointment followed a controversy, where a forged document was leaked to Israel'sChannel 2 purporting to detail plans by Gallant to smear rival candidateBenny Gantz.[23]
On 5 September 2010 the government approved the nomination of Gallant as the next chief of staff, with onlyLikud ministerMichael Eitan objecting. Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu said that the incoming IDF chief had "proven his worth during his 33 years of military service at the IDF's frontlines," and that "He's proven himself to be a courageous fighter, an excellent officer, and a responsible and serious battle commander." The PM added that Gallant picked up on a legacy of "dedication and excellence" bequeathed by incumbent IDF chief Gabi Ashkenazi. The cabinet also approved Barak's proposal, according to which Gallant would serve for three years, giving the defense minister power to grant a fourth.[8]
On 1 February 2011 Netanyahu and Barak canceled Gallant's appointment as Israel Defense Forces chief. The announcement came after months of scandal surrounding his appointment due to allegations that he had seized public lands near his home in MoshavAmikam. After conducting an investigation into the allegations,Attorney GeneralYehuda Weinstein said that his findings "raise significant legal difficulties for the decision to appoint him." Weinstein said that it was up to the prime minister and defense minister to decide whether or not Gallant could take up the post. Earlier in the day, Weinstein notified Netanyahu that he could not defend Gallant's appointment as chief of staff due to legal impediments.[24]
On 30 December 2012 the local planning committee administering land ownership issues and building licenses said that Gallant had built his home in the northern community of Amikam on 350m² of property accidentally listed as his, unaware that it was actually public land. The decision did not address two other issues still being investigated by the state comptroller and attorney general: the building of an unauthorized access road to his house and the planting of an olive grove that spilled over the boundaries of his property.[25][needs update]
.jpg)
.jpeg)
In January 2015 Gallant joined the newKulanu party led byMoshe Kahlon. He was placed second on the party's list for the2015 elections, and was elected to the Knesset as the party won ten seats. He was later appointed Minister of Construction in thenew government..[citation needed]
In January 2016 theNew York Times published an op-ed by Gallant in which he described how important he believes it is for Jewish and Arab leaders to come together in promoting peace and equality in their shared country. As part of that effort, he and MKAyman Odeh, leader of theJoint List alliance of Arab parties, together visited several Arab Israeli towns. "Together, we examined firsthand the challenges facing Arab Israeli communities so that we could bring about solutions," he noted.[26]
On 31 December 2018, Gallant quit his post as Housing and Construction Minister to joinLikud.[27] A day later he was appointedMinister of Aliyah and Integration.[28] He resigned from the Knesset and was replaced by the next candidate on the Kulanu list,Fentahun Seyoum on 2 January 2019.[29]
.jpg)
After the formation of theThirty-fifth government of Israel Gallant was appointedminister of education.[30]
On 17 January 2021, reacting to a planned speech by the director-general ofB'TselemHagai El-Ad at theHebrew Reali School, Gallant, serving as the minister of education, published a directive to the Education Ministry to forbid all organizations whose causes contradict the Ministry's vision of the country as democratic, Jewish and Zionist, from entering schools.[citation needed]
Specifically, Gallant wrote that any organization which cites Israel as an "apartheid state", shall be forbidden from entering education centers in Israel.[31][32]
In 2021, as minister of education, Gallant opposedWeizmann Institute professorOded Goldreich receiving theIsrael Prize in mathematics, due to him co-signing a 2019 letter that called for theBundestag not to pass legislation defining theBoycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement as anti-Semitic.[33] On 8 April 2021 Israel'sSupreme Court of Justice ruled in favor of Gallant's petition so that Goldreich could not receive the prize and gave Gallant a month to further examine the issue.[34] In March 2022 theHigh Court of Israel ruled that the 2021 prize had to be awarded to Prof. Goldreich.[35]
On 25 March 2023, Gallant spoke out against his own government in support of the protests against the government's proposedjudicial reforms. He asked for the government to delay the proposed legislation to allow for negotiations between the ruling coalition and the opposition, which resulted inNational Security MinisterItamar Ben-Gvir calling for Gallant's dismissal.[36] Netanyahu announced on 26 March that he was dismissing Gallant, sparkingmassive protests that night in several major cities across Israel.[37][38] That night is known as 'Gallant Night' in Israel, possibly as an allusion to the phrase, 'gallant knight'. The following day, Gallant's office stated that he would be continuing in his post, as he had not yet been given an official notice of his dismissal.[39] On 10 April, Netanyahu announced that he would not dismiss Gallant.[40]
On 8 August 2023, Gallant warned that Israel would not hesitate to attackHezbollah and "returnLebanon to the Stone Age" if Israel was attacked.[41]
On 9 October 2023, following the beginning of theGaza war and attacks in Israel byHamas militants, Gallant said he had "ordered a completesiege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly".[42][43][44][45][46]
On 13 October 2023, Gallant met with US secretary of defenseLloyd Austin. Gallant called on Palestinians toevacuate northern Gaza, includingGaza City, saying: "The camouflage of the terrorists is the civilian population. Therefore, we need to separate them. So those who want to save their lives, please go south. We are going to destroy Hamas infrastructure, Hamas headquarters, Hamas military establishment, and take these phenomena out of Gaza and out of the Earth."[47] On 13 October, he said that "Gaza won't return to what it was before. Hamas won't be there. We will eliminate everything."[48] Gallant said he had "released all restraints" as he addressed Israeli troops on the border with the Gaza Strip.[49]
In November 2023, Gallant warned thatBeirut could meet the same fate as Gaza.[50] He made the same warning in January 2024, saying that allowing Hezbollah and Iran to "decide how we live our lives here in Israel" is "something we don't accept."[51]
DuringSouth Africa's submission to theInternational Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinians, the president of the ICJ cited Gallant for using the phrase "human animals" in reference to Palestinians. Gallant described South Africa's submission asantisemitic.[52]
On 25 March 2024, after the UN Security Counciladopted a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, Gallant said that Israel has "no moral right to stop the war in Gaza."[53] On 14 April 2024, Gallant thanked Lloyd Austin and the entire U.S. Administration for "standing boldly" with Israel.[54]
On 15 May 2024, during theIsraeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Gallant convened a press conference in which he criticized Prime Minister Netanyahu for rejecting dealing with the question of "the day after" in the Gaza Strip. The defense minister called on the prime minister to announce that Israel will not control Gaza, and expressed his opposition to a military government in the Strip.[citation needed]
On 20 May 2024 an arrest warrant for Gallant, as well as for other Israeli and Hamas leaders, was requested by theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutorKarim Khan as part of theICC investigation in Palestine, on several counts ofwar crimes andcrimes against humanity during the Gaza war.[55][56] On 20 September 2024, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it was challenging the ICC jurisdiction and the legality of the arrest warrants.[57] On 21 November, the ICC Trial Chamber unanimously rejected Israel's request and indicted Gallant.[58]
On 8 June 2024, the Israeli military rescued four hostages in aspecial operation in theNuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Gallant called the rescue operation "one of the most heroic and extraordinary operations" that he had "witnessed over the course of 47 years serving in Israel's defense establishment."[59]
In June 2024 he visited the United States, where he sought to gain support for an escalation of thewar with Hezbollah and a possible ground invasion in Lebanon.[60]
Following the2024 Lebanon electronic device attacks, Gallant announced a "new phase" of the war in northern Israel and Lebanon had begun.[61] Just before the blasts, Gallant told the US defense secretaryLloyd Austin that an operation was planned in Lebanon.[62]
On 5 November 2024, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that he had dismissed Gallant and sought to haveIsrael Katz replace him. Gallant said that his sacking was caused by his desire to see the quick return ofIsraeli hostages in Gaza and an inquiry into the 7 October attacks, whereas Netanyahu simply attributed it to a lack of trust between the two.[63]Protests against his firing broke out, with many calling for a continuation of the previous protests, known as Gallant Night.[64][65]
On 21 November 2024, theInternational Criminal Court issuedarrest warrants for Gallant, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Hamas leadersMohammed Deif,Ismail Haniyeh andYahya Sinwar for alleged war crimes committed during theGaza war.[66][67] One of the key allegations against Gallant and Netanyahu was the "use of starvation as a weapon of war".[68][69][70][71][72] The use of starvation as weapon of war is banned by theUnited Nations.[73][74] A few weeks before that the arrest warrants were issued, there were also reports of looting occurring in areas controlled by the IDF.[75][76]
Gallant announced his intention to resign from the Knesset on 1 January 2025 in opposition to the government's proposed draft law.[77] His resignation went into effect on 5 January,[78] and he was replaced in the Knesset byAfif Abed.[79]
In February 2025, Gallant admitted that he issued theHannibal Directive during the 7 October attacks. In an interview withChannel 12, he confirmed of giving the order in certain areas. He also insisted on launching a military offensive in Gaza despite warnings that such an attack could endanger the Israeli hostages held there. He stated, “I think that, tactically, in some places, it was given, and in other places, it was not given, and that is a problem."[80][81][82][83]
.jpg)
In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza".
The court says it has reasonable grounds to believe that the two Israeli leaders are criminally responsible for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Among the allegations are the use of starvation as a weapon of war and crimes against humanity.
…looting of the convoys reflects the complete anarchy that prevails in Gaza due to the lack of any functioning civilian government. … Defense officials confirmed that the IDF is aware of the problem. (the Israeli government) considered making the clans to which the armed men belong responsible for distributing aid to Gaza's residents, even though some of the clans' members are involved in terrorism, and some are even affiliated with extremist organizations like the Islamic State.
|  | |
|  | |
| | |
| | |
Heads ofSouthern Command  | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | |
| | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
