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Former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, who had several confrontations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel's war in Gaza before being sacked in November, announced his resignation from parliament on Wednesday evening.
In a televised speech, Mr Gallant accused the government of undermining national security but said he would remain a member of Mr Netanyahu's Likud party.
Mr Gallant had often broken ranks with Mr Netanyahu and his coalition allies of far-right and religious parties, including over exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from military service.
In his statement, Mr Gallant said drafting the ultra-Orthodox Jews was a “necessary security and military need”.
“Due to my insistence on prioritising the good of the state of Israel and the needs of the IDF, I was removed from my position as minister of defence," he said. "Just as it is on the battlefield, so it is in public service. There are moments in which one must stop, assess and choose a direction in order to achieve the goals."
Mr Gallant has also clashed with Mr Netanyahu over the need to reach a ceasefire with Hamas to ensure the return of hostages seized by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in Gaza during an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The militants killed nearly 1,200 people and took about 250 captives back to Gaza, leading to the Israeli military war on Gaza in which more than 45,500 people have been killed so far.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant, as well as Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, who the Israeli military says it killed in Gaza.
The court said it had found "reasonable grounds" to believe the two ministers bore "criminal responsibility" for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, as well as the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.
Mr Gallant's resignation came as relatives of the hostages and activists blocked a main road in Tel Aviv during a protest to demand a ceasefire deal and the immediate release of hostages.
Holding placards showing photos of their loved ones, and shouting slogans, protesters criticised Mr Netanyahu's failure in reaching an early agreement with Hamas to release about 100 hostages still being held in Gaza, some of whom are believed to be dead.
"Our loved ones are enduring a living nightmare in Hamas captivity because Netanyahu is deciding to abandon them there,” hostage families said in a statement. “Instead of ending the war through a comprehensive deal that would bring all captives home, Netanyahu continues to sabotage the negotiations.”
Opposition figures and families have accused Mr Netanyahu of obstructing a ceasefire deal for political survival. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have threatened to withdraw from the government if a ceasefire is agreed on.
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
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- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
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