Defence minister’s resignation means that early elections are likely in Israel

Israel’s defence minister officially submitted his resignation on Thursday, leaving the government with the narrowest of parliamentary majorities and paving what looks like a clear path to early elections.

Avigdor Lieberman sent a one-sentence letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, informing him of his decision to step down. The move, which takes effect in 48 hours, leaves Mr Netanyahu with the support of only 61 out of 120 lawmakers.

With other coalition partners also flexing their muscles and the opposition parties demanding an early election, the days of Mr Netanyahu’s current government seem to be numbered.

Mr Lieberman’s abrupt resignation came in protest to a ceasefire reached with Gaza militants that ended two days of intense fighting. The hardliner had demanded a far harsher Israeli response to the widest wave of Gaza rocket fire against Israel since a 50-day war in 2014, but he was overruled by Mr Netanyahu.

In his live TV announcement on Wednesday, Mr Lieberman described the ceasefire as a “surrender to terrorism”.

The move immediately set off furious political jockeying, with insiders predicting it marked the opening salvo of a new political campaign.

Parliamentary elections are scheduled for a year from now, but Israeli governments rarely serve their full terms.

Mr Netanyahu’s fiercest coalition rival, Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the pro-settler Jewish Home party, was the first to pounce, threatening to leave the coalition if he wasn’t appointed defence minister.