This appears to be a backlash against the far right and an effort to exert more control over decisions about Hamas and Hezbollah.
Israeli PM Netanyahu scraps the war cabinet following significant exits
Netanyahu avoids a difficult situation with his coalition partners and foreign friends by dissolving the war cabinet.
Mr. Netanyahu avoids a difficult scenario with his coalition partners and foreign friends by dissolving the war cabinet.
Regarding it, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokeswoman stated that it would not have an impact on the chain of command.
Following the departure of moderate opposition leader Benny Gantz and his friend Gadi Eisenkot, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved his six-member war cabinet, a move that was widely anticipated.
Decisions about the war with Hamas in Gaza would be made by the larger full cabinet as well as the pre-existing security cabinet, according to a government spokesman.
Far-right ministers have called for Mr. Gantz to be replaced since his resignation eight days ago, citing his lack of a war plan.
Mr. Netanyahu avoids a difficult scenario with his coalition partners and foreign friends by dissolving the war cabinet.
Regarding it, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokeswoman stated that it would not have an impact on the chain of command.
Days after the conflict began in October, Mr. Gantz and Mr. Eisenkot joined Mr. Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition in a national unity cabinet.
On June 9, the two former chiefs of staff of the Israel Defense Forces announced their resignations. Mr. Gantz stated that the leadership of the prime minister was “preventing us from approaching true victory”.
Shortly after, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right Minister of National Security, claimed to have written to Mr. Netanyahu to request his inclusion in the war cabinet.
Mr. Netanyahu notified the ministers on Sunday night that, instead of adding additional members, he had chosen to dissolve the committee.
“The war cabinet was included in the coalition agreement with… Benny Gantz at his request,” stated the prime minister. There is no longer a need for this additional arm of government since Mr. Gantz is leaving the cabinet, Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer stated at a briefing on Monday.
“The state has given the security cabinet the power to make decisions alongside the entire cabinet,” he continued.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Mr. Ben-Gvir and fellow far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are among the 14 members of the security cabinet, which will consider some of the matters that were previously handled by the war cabinet.
It stated that important choices will be discussed in a “smaller consultation forum,” which was anticipated to include Aryeh Deri, the chairman of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer. The prime minister, Mr. Gantz, Mr. Eisenkot, and the three men made up the war cabinet.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF’s chief spokesman, emphasized on Monday that such actions would not have an impact on the organization’s activities.
“Both the approach and the composition of the Cabinet are being modified. We are aware of the chain of command and possess the echelon. The chain of command governs how we operate. He said to reporters, “This is a democracy.”
On October 7, an unprecedented attack on southern Israel resulted in roughly 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages. In response, the Israeli military launched a battle in Gaza to defeat Hamas.
Since then, more than 37,340 people have died in Gaza, according to the health ministry operated by Hamas in the region.
The Israeli government has been under pressure as of late. Mr. Netanyahu and his far-right ministers have been criticizing the IDF’s decision to implement daytime “tactical pauses in military activity” close to the southern Gaza city of Rafah in order to facilitate more humanitarian aid deliveries.
The stops are designed to give truckers time to load up at the border crossing south-east of Rafah, known as Kerem Shalom, which is under Israeli control, and then safely drive to the main north-south road within Gaza. At the border site, supplies have been withheld since Israel started its offensive in Rafah last month.
However, Mr. Ben-Gvir criticized the strategy as being stupid, and Mr. Netanyahu was cited by Israeli media as saying, “We have a country with an army, not an army with a country.”
According to the IDF, it was following directions from political officials to ensure that humanitarian aid reached Gaza.
Confusion about the precise nature of the combat in southern Gaza resulted from its statement that the pauses did not imply its end.
The largest humanitarian organization in Gaza, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), stated on Monday that “operationally nothing has changed yet” and that combat was still going on in Rafah and other parts of the south.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces declared that its soldiers were “continuing intelligence-based, targeted operations in the area of Rafah.” It further stated that they had taken out “several terrorists” in the Tal al-Sultan area, found weapons, and hit buildings that were set up with explosives.
Less than 5% of the 1.4 million individuals who sought refuge in Rafah before to the IDF starting what it termed as a limited operation to remove Hamas fighters and destroy infrastructure utilized by the Palestinian armed group remain, according to Unrwa’s estimate of the number of people still there at 65,000.
The Israeli military has issued fresh warnings that the lower-level battle with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah is now threatening to escalate into a larger war, with little indication that a comprehensive truce in Gaza is in the works.
A senior US envoy has returned to the area in an attempt to ease tensions at the Israel-Lebanon border after a recent spike in gunfire.
