Netanyahu will now be holding smaller meetings with government officials, including his security Cabinet, which is made up of his far-right allies.
The dissolution of the war Cabinet, which included Netanyahu, Gantz and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, underscores how polarized Israel has become over the war in Gaza.
It has also raised fears that Netanyahu will have less balance in his decisionmaking over Gaza and the conflict with Hezbollah near Lebanon.
Leftist political leader Yair Golan told CNN that Netanyahu is “totally governed by the most extreme fanatic elements” of the Israeli government.
“This is outrageous, it doesn’t represent the majority of Israel,” he said. “This government needs to be changed as soon as possible.”
Before he resigned, Gantz had called for elections and accused Netanyahu of continuing the war for his own political survival, while also saying the Israeli prime minister had failed to come up with a day after plan for Gaza.
Israelis are upset over the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, when Palestinian fighters took some 250 hostages and killed some 1,200 people in one of Israel’s biggest security failures.
They also want to see their hostages returned, with some 120 still in Gaza. A cease-fire and hostage release deal has remained out of reach, even after President Biden proposed a three-phase plan to release the hostages, withdraw Israeli troops from populated areas of Gaza and keep negotiations going to end the war.
Protests have surged in Israel, with police arresting several people during a protest Monday night local time near Netanyahu’s home in Jerusalem.
In Washington, the shakeup has little affect on U.S.-Israeli relations, considering it’s an internal affair, said White House national security spokesperson John Kirby.
“We deal with the prime minister,” Kirby told reporters, though he added the war Cabinet was a “worthwhile step.”
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
