Netanyahu backtracks on firing defence minister amidst protests.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reversed his decision to fire Yoav Gallant as defense minister, after two weeks of keeping him in limbo. Gallant was fired for warning that the national rift triggered by Netanyahu’s plan to politicize and neuter the judiciary was “penetrating the IDF and security agencies,” and posed a clear and immediate threat to the security of the state. Netanyahu is currently pushing for legislation that would give the coalition near-absolute control of judicial appointments, but a dialogue on judicial reform is taking place under President Isaac Herzog’s oversight.