During today's cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several government members expressed strong criticism of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant regarding a proposal to extend the terms of mandatory military service. The discussion centered on Gallant's initiative to address manpower shortages by extending mandatory service for men to three years, a reversal from its previous reduction to 32 months, according to Times of Israel.
According to leaked quotes published by the national broadcaster Kan, the criticism was spearheaded by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi. Karhi questioned why Gallant was prepared to extend soldiers’ service without securing the support of the opposition, yet hesitated to back legislation on ultra-Orthodox conscription without a broad consensus, including former war cabinet minister and current opposition leader Benny Gantz.
Karhi argued that failing to pass an ultra-Orthodox enlistment bill could potentially lead to the collapse of the government, thereby jeopardizing national security and inadvertently benefiting Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. He described seeking broad agreement on the matter as a tactic to give Gantz an opportunity to undermine the government.
Netanyahu echoed Karhi's sentiments, stating that giving Gantz a veto was a political move. He accused Gantz’s National Unity party of not wanting ultra-Orthodox recruitment but rather seeking to create a crisis. Environment Minister Idit Silman also criticized Gallant, recalling that during the previous government, when Gantz was Defense Minister, there was no push for a broad consensus on similar issues.
Tensions between Gallant and Netanyahu have been high since March 2023, when Netanyahu announced Gallant’s dismissal following his criticism of the government’s judicial overhaul plans. However, Netanyahu reversed this decision two weeks later due to intense public backlash.