Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday announced the dissolution of the war cabinet, following the resignation last week of 1st Alternative Prime Minister Benjamin Gantz, known as Benny, reported H24.
The group was created following the eruption of the war in Gaza on October 7.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the dissolution of the war cabinet, saying that the security cabinet would take “decisions on matters relating to the war”.
The Security Cabinet, which includes Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, is the main body to take decisions on the war with Hamas.
Gantz, leader of the National Union party (center), had left the government coalition earlier in June, taking Gadi Eisenkot with him.
“When (Gadi) Eisenkot and (Benny) Gantz joined the government, it was on condition that they would form the war cabinet,” said H24 on Tuesday quoting an anonymous speaker.
Gantz and Netanyahu were on bad terms for months, as Gantz accused bibi “of prioritising his own political survival in the midst of the ongoing war, as he has zero plans for the post war era.
Gantz urged Netanyahu to define a date for elections, a demand shared by much of Israeli society. “Let our nation not fall apart,” he continued.
In addition to Gantz, former Israel Defence Forces chief Gadi Eisenkot has opted out of the cabinet, where he is acting as an observer. Eisenkot, like Gantz, accused Netanyahu of making military decisions based on personal political goals.
The dissolution is also intended to take the wind out of the sails of far-right ministers Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who have wanted to take part in the war cabinet since the start of the conflict.
the Israeli army has launched an offensive on the Gaza Strip that has so far claimed 37,347 lives, the majority of them civilians, according to data from the Gaza government’s Ministry of Health