Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses defence minister in surprise announcement
Jerusalem, Nov 5: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that came as the country is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region.
Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival. Netanyahu cited “significant gaps” and a “crisis of trust” between the men in his Tuesday evening announcement.
“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defence minister,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defence minister.”
In the early days of the war, Israel's leadership presented a unified front as it responded to Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. But as the war dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged. While Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant had taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for a diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the Hamas group.
Gallant, a former general who has gained public respect with a gruff, no-nonsense personality, said in a statement: “The security of the state of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life's mission."
Gallant has worn a simple, black buttoned shirt throughout the war in a sign of sorrow over the October 7 attack and developed a strong relationship with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
A previous attempt by Netanyahu to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Netanyahu. He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Gallant over the summer but held off until Tuesday's announcement.
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister who was a junior officer in the military. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who recently rejoined the government, will take the foreign affairs post.
Netanyahu has a long history of neutralising his rivals. In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.
“But they kept getting wider. They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy - our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it,” he said.
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Punjab: 15-year-old girl gives birth to baby months after alleged rape
Chandigarh (PTI): A 15-year-old girl has delivered a baby in Jalandhar, months after she was allegedly raped by a boy in Amritsar, police said on Thursday.
The class 9 student has been living with her aunt in Jalandhar for the past seven months, said the aunt who filed the complaint of rape to the police.
When contacted over phone on Thursday, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Phillaur, Bharat Masih said, "We have registered a Zero FIR in the matter as the alleged rape took place in Amritsar.." He said the accused is 16 years old.
The victim's aunt said in her complaint that a month and a half back, the teenager complained of abdominal pain, due to which, she was taken for a checkup to a private doctor in Jalandhar's Nurmahal. The doctor prescribed some medicines, she said.
On April 19, the girl complained of severe abdominal pain, after which she took the teenager to a private hospital in Phillaur in Jalandhar. The doctor there referred the girl to another hospital, where she was told that she was pregnant.
Later, she gave birth to a baby in the hospital. When the girl's aunt asked her about her pregnancy, she said that a boy in Amritsar who lived in her locality had raped her, the complainant said.
A police station under Jalandhar Rural police jurisdiction has registered a Zero FIR in the matter and the boy has been booked under relevant provisions of the POCSO Act and the BNS on April 20, police said.
A Zero FIR is an FIR that can be filed in any police station, irrespective of place of incident/jurisdiction and the same can be later transferred to the appropriate police station.
