Regev Chosen Over Smotrich to Fill in for Gallant at Defense Ministry

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM — Transportation Minister Miri Regev is serving as acting defense minister while Yoav Gallant is in Germany for the Munich Security Conference, The Times of Israel reported on Thursday.

The coalition’s decision to tap Regev (there is no one designated by law to fill in) appeared to bypass Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also holds the position of independent, second minister in the ministry, and would seem to have been a natural choice for the assignment.

Gallant departed Thursday evening for Munich and is scheduled to return Sunday evening, according to his spokesperson.

The decision is in line with Section 24(a) of Basic Law: The Government, which mandates that the government appoint a placeholder minister to fill another cabinet member’s role when that minister is abroad.

Gallant and Smotrich have been at loggerheads over who controls COGAT, the defense body charged with overseeing civil administration in Yehuda and Shomron. It may be that Gallant did not want Smotrich to be in charge temporarily, lest he issue orders that he didn’t approve. However, no reason was given for picking Regev.

A former IDF brigadier general and IDF spokesperson, Regev outranks Smotrich, who was a secretary in the Operations Division of the General Staff. She is also Likud’s most senior woman politician.