Israeli Minister Ben Gvir Threatens to Disband Government

Tel Aviv, MINA – Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatened to dissolve the government if he was not allowed to participate in the War Council.

Meanwhile the War Council was reshuffled in its new form, without Ben Gvir on Thursday evening after the resignation of war cabinet ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot.

After Gantz and Eisenkot resigned, the War Council now includes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant as its two main members. Arabic Post reported.

The War Council also included Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Minister without Portfolio Aryeh Deri as observers.

According to the Walla Israel website, Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requesting the immediate formation of a political security cabinet, and also calling for his inclusion in the War Council.

“Mr Prime Minister, your partner in this government is not an empty wind,” said Ben Gvir.

On Monday, Hebrew media reported Netanyahu was considering dissolving the War Council following the resignations of Ministers Gantz and Eisenkot.

On Sunday evening, Gantz and Eisenkot, who are partners of the United National Party, accused Netanyahu of pursuing “policies that serve his own political interests, and called for early elections as soon as possible.”

They both also accused Netanyahu of failing to achieve the stated goals of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, since October 7, in particular the failure to eliminate Hamas and the return of prisoners from the Gaza Strip.

The resignations of Gantz and Eisenkot do not represent a major threat to Netanyahu’s government, as their parties are not part of his governing coalition.

But the resignations will leave the war council, formed on October 11, without representatives from any party other than Netanyahu’s Likud (right).

The Israeli government has three decision-making bodies, namely the War Council, the Ministerial Council for Political and Security Affairs (Cabinet), and the extended government.

Netanyahu is committed to continuing his position, and has rejected growing calls for months to hold early elections, claiming that doing so would paralyze the country and freeze prisoner exchange negotiations for a period that could be as long as 8 months. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)