Netanyahu sacks the defence secretary

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, on Sunday, less than a day after Gallant attempted to put the brakes on the PM's controversial effort to overhaul the nation's judiciary system. Gallant was the first in Netanyahu's cabinet to break ranks with the PM over his full-speed-ahead proposal to seize greater control over the selection of Supreme Court justices and restrict the court's power over the Knesset. He warned that the unrest over the PM's planned power-grab was putting Israel's national security at risk, and that therefore he could not support it. Netanyahu announced his dismissal less than 24 hours later, setting off a firestorm of protest. Thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets of Jerusalem to denounce what is widely perceived as unconscionable overreach by the PM.

Protesters blocked Tel Aviv's Ayalon highway and gathered outside the homes of Likud Party MKs and other high-ranking officials in protest of Netanyahu's judicial overhaul. A group of universities announced a general strike, while the director general of the Defense Ministry cut short his trip to the US to return home. Israel's consul general in New York, Asaf Zamir, announced his resignation, vowing to "join the fight for Israel's future." Gallant had warned his boss that many in the IDF had threatened to walk off the job, temporarily or permanently, should his proposal become law. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.Gen. Herzi Halevi had even admitted reservists were stretched thin enough that it might have to pare back certain operations. Former PM Ehud Barak spoke out against his successor, predicting the protests within the IDF reservists' ranks would grow and calling on Netanyahu to step down.