Netanyahu takes defence job amid call for early elections

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he would take on the defence minister portfolio, rejecting calls to dissolve his government even as early elections appeared increasingly likely.

Netanyahu said heading to elections now, amid repeated violent confrontations with Gaza militants, was “irresponsible” of his coalition partners, who have been pushing for early polls since the resignation last week of Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman over a Gaza cease-fire.

“Today, I take on for the first time the position of defence minister,” said Netanyahu, speaking from Israel’s defence headquarters in Tel Aviv in a statement broadcast live at the top of the evening newscasts.

“We are in one of the most complex security situations and during a period like this, you don’t topple a government. During a period like this you don’t go to elections,” he said.

The sudden coalition crisis was sparked by the resignation of the hawkish Lieberman, who had demanded a far stronger response last week to the most massive wave of rocket attacks on Israel since the 2014 Israel-Hamas war. He alleges the cease-fire agreement reached with Gaza’s Hamas rulers will put southern Israel under a growing threat from the group, similar to that posed to northern Israel by Lebanon’s heavily armed Hezbollah group.

The departure of Lieberman and his Yisrael Beitenu party leaves the coalition with a oneseat majority.