The Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Israel are in sharp conflict
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are said to have been at odds for a long time. AA photo
Under the headline: “The war between Netanyahu and Gallant is like this”, Israel’s Channel 12 said, “for weeks, the Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister have tried to hide the tension between them, but now that is useless”.
“It has been smoldering beneath the surface for a long time,” Israel’s Channel 12 revealed.
“It can be said that between Netanyahu and Gallant there has been a feeling of mutual disappointment for a long time. Netanyahu appointed Gallant to the most important position in his government, defense minister, following seeing him as a loyal soldier, not of course to the army but to the prime minister himself.” Channel 12 wrote and added that, “from the first moment, Mr. Gallant was faced with strange orders.”
“When Netanyahu announced at the end of March last year that he had decided to fire Gallant, no one in the political system was surprised, and it became clear that the dismissal of the Defense Minister was only a matter of time, But the protests that broke out that night had the impact of helping Mr. Gallant maintain his position,” according to Channel 12.
Channel 12 recorded important events – the attack by Hamas on October 7, which “did not heal the relationship between Netanyahu and Gallant”. Even “the situation became worse” – Channel 12 said.
Accordingly, the lack of trust between Mr. Netanyahu and Gallant is expressed in the fact that each of them suspects the other of manipulation and leaking information. Mr. Gallant is accused of constantly leaking even the most sensitive discussions.
“Mr. Netanyahu gave instructions to the heads of security agencies not to meet Gallant without his presence,” according to Channel 12.
Russia calls on Hamas to release the hostages
Russia on Friday called on Hamas to release all hostages in talks with the Palestinian militant group’s senior official in Moscow, saying the humanitarian situation in Gaza had reached a “catastrophic” level.
Hamas militants took regarding 250 hostages in an attack on Israel last October, regarding 132 of whom are believed to still be in Gaza.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said diplomat Mikhail Bogdanov “stressed the need to quickly release civilians captured in the attacks of October 7, 2023” during negotiations with senior Hamas officials. Musa Abu Marzouk.
In addition, the two sides also discussed ensuring a ceasefire in Gaza and Mr. Bogdanov expressed “Russia’s support for the rights of the Palestinian people.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry later said that Mr. Bogdanov also met with Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Simona Halperin and informed Ms. Halperin regarding Russia’s intentional efforts to seek the immediate and unconditional release of civilians, including Russian citizens, detained in the Gaza Strip.
Bogdanov also expressed Moscow’s “consistent position in supporting a comprehensive solution in the Middle East on the basis of United Nations decisions.”
Russia has criticized Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and has repeatedly called for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
According to official Israeli figures, Hamas militants launched attacks on October 7 last year that killed regarding 1,140 people in Israel, most of them civilians.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Israel’s military campaign has so far killed at least 24,762 people in Gaza, regarding 70% of whom are women, children and teenagers.
