Likud Court Rules: Yoav Gallant Will Stay in the Party

Likud’s Supreme Court unanimously rejected petitions today (Sunday) seeking to remove former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant from the party’s ranks. The court ruled that no legal or constitutional grounds were found to justify the move, and that the decision over Gallant’s future in Likud should be made by the movement’s members at the ballot box.

In its ruling, the court said that political and ideological disputes, no matter how sharp, do not constitute grounds for expulsion from the party. The judges added that an elected official’s duty of loyalty to the State of Israel comes before any partisan duty of loyalty.

 Yoav Gallant’s attorneys, Boaz Ben Tzur and Carmel Ben Tzur, said in response: "The Likud court’s decision is a clear victory for internal party democracy, and an important message about the ability to express differing views within a political party."

They added: "The court determined that no basis had been presented for finding that Gallant violated his duty of loyalty to the Likud movement. It was also determined that expanding the grounds for removal from the movement to include internal disputes could create a dangerous precedent for eliminating political rivals. The court noted that the decision on Mr. Gallant’s path is entrusted to the voting public of party members, and that Gallant chose to pay a personal political price for his positions when he resigned from the Knesset. These are highly significant democratic determinations, and we welcome this outcome."

At the center of the petitions was the episode known as "Gallant Night," which took place during the dispute over judicial reform. The petitioners argued that Gallant’s speech at the time was "a service to the Kaplanists" and a direct challenge to Likud’s institutions. The movement’s comptroller, attorney Shay Galili, had previously defined Gallant’s actions as conduct requiring permanent expulsion from the party.

Gallant chose to fight for his place in the movement through attorney Boaz Ben Tzur. In his arguments, Gallant said that Likud is a pluralistic party and not a "dictatorship of one opinion," and that the court is not the appropriate arena for settling political scores. Gallant said his loyalty to security principles is consistent with the movement’s values.

According to reports, in the period leading up to the decision, Gallant was absent from government meetings, official events, and major faction votes. At the same time, he held numerous political meetings in his office with Likud activists, where he often criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the way the war was being managed. Activists in the faction attacked the move, arguing that it was a cynical use of a security platform for personal political needs.