Israeli police use water cannon to disperse protesters<\/p>\n
Police in Tel Aviv have used water cannon on protesters demonstrating against the decision to sack Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant.<\/p>\n
He was dismissed on Tuesday<\/strong><\/a> by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/strong><\/a> – the pair have repeatedly been at odds<\/strong><\/a> over the war in Gaza<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Footage posted online shows crowds gathering on a motorway in the Israeli<\/strong><\/a> city of Tel Aviv, blocking traffic and lighting fires.<\/p>\n There have also been similar demonstrations in Jerusalem<\/strong><\/a>, Haifa, Caesarea, and other locations, according to The Times of Israel.<\/p>\n There have been regular rumours Mr Gallant was on the way out but refused to go.<\/p>\n He had argued for a hostage deal in Gaza<\/strong><\/a> and clashed with other parties in Israel’s coalition over drafting members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community into the military.<\/p>\n In a televised statement after he was sacked, he said Israel was navigating through the fog of battle and “moral darkness”. He also called for an inquiry into the failures of 7 October 2023.<\/p>\n In contrast, Mr Netanyahu described “significant gaps” and a “crisis of trust” for his decision to replace Yoav Gallant with a longtime loyalist.<\/p>\n Like the prime minister, Mr Gallant’s career was deeply scarred by the Hamas<\/a><\/strong>-led attacks originating from Gaza, in which gunmen killed about 1,200 people and seized more than 250 hostages.<\/p>\n He knew he was living on borrowed time – Mr Netanyahu’s first attempt to sack him<\/a><\/strong> last year failed after some of the biggest protests ever seen in Israel.<\/p>\n The prime minister backed down that time, but relations between the pair have never recovered and they wrangled constantly as the war in Gaza passed its first anniversary.<\/p>\n