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Thousands of Israelis took to the streets to protest after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on November 5, the Times of Israel reported.

At least 40 people were arrested in Tel Aviv, the report said.

Police said protesters lit fires, shot fireworks into the air, and threw stones.

“While we respect the right to lawful protest, we will not tolerate any actions that endanger public safety or violate the law,” police said.

In a video statement, Netanyahu said “during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defense minister […] I made many attempts to bridge these gaps, but they kept getting wider,” according to a translation by the Times of Israel.

“They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy — our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it,” he said.

Gallant said, “The security of the State of Israel was and will always remain the mission of my life […] I salute Israel’s fallen troops and their families, our wounded veterans, the hostages and their families, all of the IDF’s troops and security forces.” Credit: Israel Police via Storyful