James Myers of OAN
Monday, June 17, 2024 11:55 AM
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved his six-member war cabinet, a decision that was expected following the resignation of centrist opposition leader Benny Gantz.
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According to the officials, Prime Minister Netanyahu told his cabinet members that delicate discussions would take place in a smaller forum known as the “kitchen cabinet.”
The war cabinet was formed when Gantz joined Netanyahu’s unity government at the start of the war following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks.Number In Israel, Gantz’s partner Gadi Eisenkot and Aryeh Deri, leader of the religious Shas party, also departed as observers.
“I think this is mostly domestic politics and maneuvering ahead of the upcoming elections, but I also get the sense that Prime Minister Netanyahu feels a little stronger than he was a while ago,” said Paul Salem, vice president for international relations at the Middle East Institute, a Washington-based think tank.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army also announced that operations in the southern Gaza Strip are continuing, with troops battling Hamas terrorists in the Tel Sultan area west of Rafah.
“The status quo is not a sustainable reality,” government spokesman David Mensah told a news conference.
Netanyahu has faced demands from his nationalist and religious partners in the coalition government, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir being asked to join a war cabinet.
But such a move would intensify tensions with international partners, including the United States.
The Israeli military also said on Monday it had killed a senior operative in Hezbollah’s rocket and missile forces in the Selaa region of southern Lebanon.
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