Minister quits

Israel’s government collapses: new elections called

The 65-year-old Benny Gantz (right) had repeatedly announced his withdrawal from Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet.

(Bild: AFP/Abir SULTAN)

Following disagreements over the war in the Gaza Strip, Minister Benny Gantz leaves the Israeli government. The opposition politician is also calling for new elections.

As expected, Benny Gantz, opposition politician and member of the Israeli war cabinet, announced his withdrawal on Sunday evening. Until now, he had supported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government despite criticizing him. The 65-year-old had threatened Netanyahu with the move several times and most recently issued an ultimatum that expired on Saturday evening. Gantz had demanded a plan for a post-war order in the Gaza Strip from Netanyahu.

The former general had joined Netanyahu's government as minister without portfolio after the attack by Hamas and other terrorist groups on October 7 in order to send a signal of unity.

At the same time as his resignation on Sunday evening, Gantz also called for new elections, although Netanyahu still has a majority of 64 out of 120 seats in parliament without the opposition figure.

War cabinet about to be dissolved
In addition to Netanyahu and Gantz, the war cabinet consists of Defense Minister Joav Galant and two non-voting advisors. The influence of Netanyahu's ultra-right-wing coalition members was thus limited when it came to co-determining the most important war decisions. According to media reports, Gantz's resignation could lead to the dissolution of the war cabinet.

This is probably why Netanyahu had called on the minister not to leave on Saturday evening. "Do not leave the emergency government. Do not give up on unity," he wrote on Platform X. "This is a time for unity, not division. We must remain united among ourselves in the face of the great tasks that lie ahead."

General also resigned
Just a few hours before Benny Gantz, the commander of the Gaza Division of the Israeli army announced his resignation. Avi Rosenfeld justified his step with his failure on October 7, the day of the Hamas massacre in Israel: "On October 7, I failed in the task of my life to protect the Gaza border area," he wrote in the letter.

The head of military intelligence, Aharon Chaliva, had already resigned in April for the same reason. Defense Minister Joav Galant and the head of the domestic intelligence service, Ronen Bar, also admitted responsibility for the terror attack. Netanyahu, on the other hand, has not yet accepted any personal responsibility, despite widespread criticism.