Israel minister quits over Gaza ceasefire
MOVE COULD SPARK ELECTIONS
ISRAEL’S defence minister Avigdor Lieberman has resigned his post in protest against a ceasefire reached with Gaza militants.
The move has rocked the Israeli political scene and seemed likely to bring about early elections. Mr Lieberman termed the ceasefire ending two days of intense fighting “surrender to terrorism”, and said he could no longer serve a government that endorsed it.
Mr Lieberman had demanded a far stronger Israeli response to the most intense round of rocket fire against Israel since a 50-day war in 2014, but appeared to have been overruled by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His resignation delivers a major blow to Mr Netanyahu’s coalition government and sparked immediate calls for elections. Mr Lieberman said he hoped that in the coming days a date would be set for a new vote and the opposition parties joined his call. The government could technically survive without Mr Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu faction. But with elections currently set for November 2019, it is unlikely to last that long in lame-duck form. Mr Lieberman’s resignation will take effect in 48 hours.