Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved his six-member war cabinet. This decision comes in the wake of the departure of former general Benny Gantz from the government.
What Happened: Netanyahu is now expected to discuss the Gaza war with a smaller group of ministers, including Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who were part of the dissolved war cabinet, Reuters reported on Monday.
The Prime Minister had been under pressure from his nationalist-religious coalition partners, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, to include them in the war cabinet. This inclusion could have escalated tensions with international allies, including the United States.
The war cabinet was established after Gantz joined Netanyahu in a national unity government at the onset of the Gaza war in October. It also included Gantz’s partner Gadi Eisenkot and Aryeh Deri, the leader of the religious party Shas, as observers. Gantz and Eisenkot left the government last week, citing Netanyahu’s failure to form a strategy for the Gaza war.
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Why It Matters: The dissolution of the war cabinet follows a period of escalating tensions and disagreements within Israel’s leadership. In April, Netanyahu, Gallant, and Gantz were reported to be in disagreement over the country’s war strategy, causing concerns about the potential impact on the Middle East's geopolitical stability.
In early June, Netanyahu rejected a U.S.-backed plan to end the conflict with Hamas, further straining relations with the U.S. and exacerbating internal coalition challenges. Both the U.S. Department of State and the European Union's European Council have placed Hamas in their foreign terrorist organization lists.
Just a week later, Hamas urged the U.S. to pressure Israel to end the ongoing conflict in Gaza, ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to the Middle East.
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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari
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