Channel 14 Hosts Slam Housing Minister Over Reported Plan to Fire Official

Prominent Israeli television host Ynon Magal of Channel 14 expressed outrage on social media against Housing Minister Yitzhak (Haim) Katz, following reports that Katz summoned Yehuda Eliyahu, acting director general of the Israel Land Authority, for a pre-dismissal hearing. Magal, who has hundreds of thousands of followers, stated that if Eliyahu is fired, he will not vote for the Likud party. Magal argued that Eliyahu's appointment was the last hope to save the Negev and Galilee regions, claiming the country's future was at stake.

Fellow Channel 14 host Shimon Riklin echoed these sentiments on X, calling Katz "Netanyahu's tank" and asserting that Eliyahu had begun to implement necessary changes in the Israel Land Authority for the Negev and Galilee. Riklin suggested the dismissal was due to "schemes" unrelated to right-wing ideology and questioned Prime Minister Netanyahu about the "shame" and the nature of the current government's right-wing credentials.

Following the media outcry, an official statement from the Likud party denied the dismissal reports. The Prime Minister's Office clarified that Netanyahu had approved Eliyahu's appointment and was satisfied with his performance, stating, "He is doing important national work in the Galilee and the Negev, and he will not be fired."

Minister Katz, however, issued his own statement refuting the claims of a pre-dismissal hearing and any connection to appointments. He stated that serious issues of "severe mismanagement" at the Israel Land Authority had reached his desk, which he could not ignore. According to Katz, the reasons for the hearing were "poor interpersonal relations and the exclusion of women, alongside his lack of cooperation on the issue of expanding and adjusting the rights and entitlements of career service members and their families."