JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he would leave Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in place given an escalating security crisis, reversing a decision to fire the minister that triggered protests and raised alarm abroad.
He said the two had resolved their disagreement over Gallant鈥檚 public call last month for a halt to the government鈥檚 bitterly divisive judicial overhaul plan, which Gallant said had become a threat to Israel鈥檚 security.
Last week Netanyahu announced he would delay the dismissal.
鈥淚鈥檝e decided to put our differences behind us,鈥� Netanyahu said at a Monday press conference. He said the two had worked closely together throughout the last two weeks.
An Italian tourist was killed and five people were wounded in a car ramming in Tel Aviv on Friday hours after two Israeli sisters and their mother were killed in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank.
The attacks, after a night of cross-border strikes in Gaza and Lebanon, added to heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions following Israeli police raids in Jerusalem鈥檚 Al-Aqsa mosque this week.
The tensions threatened to widen when Israel responded to a barrage of rockets by hitting targets linked to Hamas in Gaza and southern Lebanon, but the fighting entered a lull on Friday.
A Sunday opinion poll, from Israel鈥檚 Channel 13 News, showed Netanyahu鈥檚 Likud party would lose more than a third of its seats if an election were held now, and Netanyahu would fail to gain a majority with his hard-right coalition partners.
鈥淚鈥檓 not disturbed by the poll,鈥� Netanyahu told reporters.
The prime minister said relations with the United States, which appeared strained over the government鈥檚 planned judicial overhaul, remained 鈥渢ight鈥� and the two countries enjoyed security and intelligence cooperation.
Netanyahu鈥檚 government paused legislation on the overhaul to allow for compromise discussions with opposition parties following weeks of nationwide protests.