Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after he called for the cancellation of controversial plans to overhaul the justice system.
Benjamin Netanyahu summoned Mr. Gallant to a meeting and informed him that he no longer trusted him as defense minister.
The plan to limit the judiciary’s powers has sparked months of public outrage.
Mr. Gallant described it as an “immediate and tangible threat” to state security.
Mr Gallant said in a brief televised statement on Saturday night that members of the Israeli Defense Forces were angry and disappointed with an intensity he had never seen before.
Some members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party supported the defense minister, but others on the far right demanded his resignation.
Protests against the legal system’s changes raged on Sunday night, with demonstrators blocking a major road in Tel Aviv.
The law is part of a contentious plan by the right-wing coalition government to limit the judiciary’s powers.
It includes allowing parliament to overturn Supreme Court decisions, which critics say will undermine the judiciary’s independence and could be used for political purposes.
But Mr Netanyahu says the reforms are designed to stop the courts from overreaching their powers and that they were voted for by the public at the last election.
Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid described Mr. Gallant’s sacking as “a new low” for the government.
“Netanyahu can fire Gallant, but he can’t fire reality or fire the people of Israel who are fronting up to resist the coalition’s madness,” Mr Lapid added.
Former defense minister Benny Gantz praised Mr Gallant, who he said had put the security of the country above all interests.
But far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir supported Mr Netanyahu’s move, saying, “The prime minister decided on the necessary step and I congratulate him for that.”
