Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hosted a Passover celebration on Tuesday afternoon, at which he raised a glass to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Mr. Prime Minister," said Gallant, "we are happy to host you here at the Defense Ministry, at the IDF General Headquarters. Your arrival here, always and certainly under the present circumstances during the Passover holiday at a time of intensive operational activity, has great significance."
This event marked the second time Netanyahu and Gallant were seen in public together since Netanyahu attempted to fire Gallant on March 26. The first time was at a similar event the day before, with the IDF's Oketz unit.
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi was also in attendance at the celebration on Tuesday.
"This is the real chain of command of the State of Israel," continued Gallant. "The prime minister, the defense minister, the chief of staff and IDF major-generals." This comment may have been a reference to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has been vying for a branch of the military -Israel's National Guard - under his own command.
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Netanyahu also spoke, although he did not explicitly return Gallant's sentiments. Instead, he addressed his well-wishes to Herzi Halevi explicitly.
"I want to wish you all a happy Passover," Netanyahu said. "I want to express my appreciation to you, [Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi] personally, and to the entire chain of command down to the last of the soldiers, for the great daily [ongoing] effort ... for the security of Israel."
He related the struggle of the ancient Israelites leaving Egypt to the struggles facing the state of Israel today, and asserted that the work of the IDF is the realization of the Zionist dream and the answer to centuries of "helplessness."
"I don't forget for a moment, I'm sure you don't forget either, that our protective force rests first and foremost on the People's Army," he said.
"Today," Netanyahu continued, "we have a debate between the sectors of the people. This debate, I hope will be resolved by broad agreement. I am doing everything in my power to achieve this."
The prime minister also referenced the current political situation in Israel and asserted that Knesset disagreements would not interfere with the security of the nation, saying:
"No argument will prevent us from [taking up] sword and shield to defend ourselves [from our enemies] and repel[ing] their attacks to ensure the continuation of the Zionist enterprise. Because I can tell you one thing - there is a limit to the number of miracles that history can bestow upon a nation, and the nation of Israel has already received an abundance of such miracles."