Israeli PM Netanyahu dissolves 6-member war cabinet following Benny Gantz's exit amid Gaza war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced the dissolution of his six-member war cabinet after the centrist former general Benny Gantz announced his departure last week, according to media reports. 

The Israeli PM’s far-right coalition partners have been pushing for a new war cabinet to be constituted after Gantz announced his resignation from Netanyahu’s emergency government. He was the only centrist leader in the war cabinet. 

The popular former military chief boosted Israel's credibility with its international partners at a time when Israel finds itself at its most isolated. 

Gantz took with him Gadi Eisenkot, one of the three war cabinet observers.  

Netanyahu had faced demands from the nationalist-religious partners in his coalition, far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to be included in the war cabinet, a move which could have intensified strains with international partners, including the US. 

The move comes as protesters against Netanyahu’s government and handling of the war with Hamas are staging a week of demonstrations with the aim of forcing an election before the first-year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack. 

Gantz’s exit from the war cabinet came following his June 8 deadline to Netanyahu to commit to an agreed version for the ongoing Gaza conflict that would include stipulating, who might rule Gaza after the war with Hamas. Gantz had threatened to quit the war cabinet and withdraw his centrist party from the emergency cabinet. 

Gantz announced his resignation on June 9.  

Going forward Netanyahu would hold smaller forums with some of his government members for sensitive issues surrounding the war. That includes his security Cabinet, where far-right governing partners who oppose cease-fire deals and have voiced support for reoccupying Gaza, are members, AP reported. 

The War Cabinet was formed in the early days of the war, when Gantz, a centrist opposition party leader, joined the coalition in a show of unity following the October 7 Hamas attack. He had demanded that a small decision-making body steer the war. It was made up of three members — Gantz, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who made important decisions throughout the course of the war.