In an unexpected political turnaround, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced the dissolution of his war cabinet, according to an official Israeli statement relayed by Fatshimetrie on Monday. The move comes shortly after opposition leader Benny Gantz withdrew from the cabinet.
Decision-making will now be reintegrated into the government’s main security cabinet, the Israeli official said, adding that Netanyahu will “hold smaller forums for sensitive issues.”
Set up five days after the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on October 7, the war cabinet consisted of five members: Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, opposition leader Benny Gantz, and two “observers,” Ron Dermer and Gadi Eisenkot.
However, Gantz, considered Netanyahu’s most formidable political opponent, announced last week his “complex and painful” decision to withdraw from the cabinet. He criticizes Netanyahu for failing to develop a strategy for the Gaza conflict and for the future governance of the Gaza Strip.
“Our progress toward a real victory [in Gaza] is being hindered by Netanyahu,” Gantz said on June 9.
He accuses Netanyahu of putting his own personal political considerations ahead of a post-conflict strategy for the Gaza Strip and claims that “crucial strategic decisions are met with hesitation and procrastination due to political considerations,” urging the prime minister to hold elections in the coming months.
“I appeal to Netanyahu: Set an agreed election date. Do not let our people tear each other apart,” Gantz said.
In April, Gantz called for early elections to be held as early as September, ahead of the one-year anniversary of the war, saying that “Israeli society must renew its contract with its leaders.” The previous month, he had traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in a trip not authorized by the Israeli government.
Gantz is often more popular than the prime minister in opinion polls. A poll published Friday by the Israeli newspaper Maariv showed Gantz’s support at 42 percent, compared to 34 percent for Netanyahu.
Gantz’s resignation prompted calls from far-right members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, to join the war cabinet. Both men had initially been excluded from the cabinet at Gantz’s request.
By ending the war cabinet, Netanyahu may have avoided having to accept Ben-Gvir’s demands to join the cabinet, which could have further strained Israel’s relations with the United States, or having to reject his demands, which could have angered the most extreme wing of Netanyahu’s coalition.
Another interpretation is that without Gantz – and Eisenkot, who also resigned – there was no point in keeping the war cabinet. In the future, according to an Israeli official quoted by Fatshimetrie, Netanyahu will hold more restricted forums to discuss sensitive issues related to the war with Hamas. It is unclear whether Ben-Gvir will also be excluded from these discussions.
As national security minister, Ben-Gvir sits in Israel’s security cabinet alongside 12 other ministers, including Smotrich, Gallant and Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
After the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Saturday a daily “tactical pause” in military activity along a southern Gaza road to allow for aid distribution, Ben-Gvir condemned the move.
Both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have urged Israel to maintain its assault on Gaza until Hamas is completely defeated, threatening to topple Netanyahu’s government if it accepts a peace proposal publicly announced last month by US President Joe Biden.
“Whoever decided on a ‘tactical pause’ for the purpose of a humanitarian transition, especially at a time when our best soldiers are falling in combat, is evil and a fool who should not continue in office,” he said.