Israel's Netanyahu monitoring ex-defense chief to brand him 'defector': Report

ISTANBUL

An Israeli news outlet reported Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is closely monitoring the actions of his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, preparing to declare him a "defector" from the ruling Likud Party.

According to the news website Walla, sources within the Likud Party, which Netanyahu leads, revealed that the premier and party officials were observing Gallant's actions, particularly in the Israeli parliament, known as the Knesset, to officially announce that he had defected from the party.

Sources claimed that this scrutiny was aimed at gathering evidence that Gallant is acting independently, facilitating the declaration of his split from Likud and preventing his candidacy in the upcoming parliamentary elections under the party banner.

They also noted that Netanyahu wanted Gallant to resign from the Knesset, thereby ensuring he could not vote against the government position in the future.

Netanyahu had announced Gallant's dismissal on Nov. 5, replacing him with then-Foreign Minister Israel Katz, citing disagreements with the former defense chief over the government's handling of the ongoing offensive in Gaza and southern Lebanon.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in October last year, killing more than 44,000 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,000.

It has also engaged in cross-border warfare with Lebanon, launching an air campaign in late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets. Over 3,600 people in Lebanon have been killed, with more than 15,300 injured and over a million displaced since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

The ICC announced in a landmark move on Thursday that it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi