On March 26, Netanyahu announced that he had fired Gallant for calling on the government to suspend adoption of the controversial judicial reform amid nationwide mass protests. However, Gallant still retains his post as the defense minister.
"We know that in Israel we are in the midst of an internal debate. I believe that that in this debate, with goodwill and genuine dialogue, it will be possible to reach broad consensus; this is what I aspire to," Netanyahu said, according to the statement.
"But it is important to tell our enemies not to err because internal debates do not matter, we will fight them both within and beyond our borders with all necessary force to defend ourselves by ourselves."
Earlier in the day, Israeli media reported, citing sources, that the dismissal of the defense minister had been postponed due to security concerns. Netanyahu does not insist on the dismissal because he is awaiting apologies from Gallant and assurances of his loyalty to the government policy, media said.