PM continues to search for replacements for Minister Gallant, but is considering keeping him in his position if he resigns from the Knesset.
Israel National News Mar 29, 2023, 5:11 PM (GMT+3)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering announcing the cancellation of the dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on the condition that the latter announces that he will resign from the Knesset and that he will not be allowed to return to the Knesset under the Norwegian Law if he is dismissed a second time.
Netanyahu announced Gallant’s dismissal on Sunday after the Defense Minister issued a public statement on Saturday night demanding that the judicial reform legislation be frozen due to the growing number of refusals to report for duty among the IDF reserves.
A number of Likud officials have attempted in the last few days to negotiate a compromise between Netanyahu and Gallant, who still has not received an official letter dismissing him as is required by law.
One of the officials attempting to keep Gallant as Defense Minister is Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, who is considered one of the top candidates to replace Gallant.
Three scenarios are under consideration to allow Gallant to remain as Defense Minister. In the first scenario, Gallant would simply remain in his current positions as a minister and an MK in exchange for an apology to Netanyahu. The second is having Gallant resign from the Knesset under the Norwegian Law, which would allow him to return to the Knesset if he is removed from his ministerial position at a later date. The third is for Gallant to resign from the Knesset without the protection of the Norwegian Law. This would make Gallant a minister similar to former Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer, who did not run on the Likud’s Knesset list in the last election.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu is continuing to look for a possible replacement for Gallant in the Defense Ministry. Tonight (Wednesday), he will meet with MK Nir Barkat. Yisrael Katz is also considered a candidate for Defense Minister, as is Avi Dichter, as previously mentioned
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