The move, a week after the departure of Benny Gantz, an influential minister who criticized Netanyahu’s lack of strategy, could mean the end of the coalition and greater control by the Israeli prime minister over the war in Gaza.
Following the resignation of MPs Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot from the government, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he was dissolving the six-member war cabinet.
Some of the issues previously considered by the war cabinet will now be transferred to the security cabinet, but sensitive decisions will be handled in a smaller consultation forum, Haaretz said.
This cabinet is expected to include Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi and Shas Party Chairman Aryeh Deri, who served as an observer in the war cabinet.
Gantz, Mr. Netanyahu’s longtime political rival, joined the government in a show of unity after Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7. He left the government earlier this month, citing frustration with Mr Netanyahu’s handling of the war.
The dissolution of the war cabinet is seen as a symbolic gesture, primarily intended to prevent the inclusion of ministers, such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
According to The Guardian, Netanyahu faced demands from his coalition’s nationalist-religious partners, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, to be included in the war cabinet, which would have may have intensified tensions with international partners, including the United States.
Critics say Mr. Netanyahu’s wartime decisions have been influenced by ultranationalists in his government, who oppose a deal that included a ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages. They expressed support for the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the reoccupation of the territory.
Mr Netanyahu denies the accusations and says he has the country’s interests in mind.
Additional sources • Haaretz, The Guardian