DISSOLVED Israel. Israeli media reported on June 17, 2024 that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the security cabinet Sunday night that the war cabinet, which was created on Oct. 11, has been officially disbanded. Xinhua
WASHINGTON – Reacting to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to dissolve the War Cabinet, the White House on Monday called it an "internal" issue and said Netanyahu had little choice.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said it was up to Netanyahu to decide and added that the Cabinet was a "domestic measure" to better advise Netanyahu and provide him counsel on the war in Gaza.
"We said at the time that we believed it was a worthwhile step, and we still hold by that. But with Mr. (Benny) Gantz's decision to leave, I'm not sure that Prime Minister Netanyahu was left with a whole lot of other choices," Kirby told a press briefing, referring to last week’s departure by Gantz.
Tel Aviv announced Monday that Netanyahu has dissolved the War Cabinet that was formed on Oct. 11, 2023, just days after Israel on Oct. 7 launched a war on Gaza.
According to public broadcaster KAN, after Gantz left, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had made a forceful request to join the War Cabinet. There are reports that Netanyahu dissolved it in response to this.
The move came after opposition leader Gantz quit the emergency government earlier this month following disagreements over a post-war strategy on the Gaza Strip.
It originally included Netanyahu, Gantz, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Ron Dermer, Gadi Eizenkot, and Shas party leader Aryeh Deri.
US President Joe Biden's senior adviser Amos Hochstein on Tuesday urged for immediate political solutions to the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group.
Following a meeting with Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, he said, "The conflict on both sides of the Blue Line between Hezbollah and Israel has gone on long enough."
"It is in everyone’s interest to resolve the conflict quickly and politically, and this is possible, necessary, and within reach," Hochstein added.
He noted that achieving a cease-fire in Gaza would eventually help end the border escalation between Israel and Lebanon, urging the Palestinian Hamas group to accept the cease-fire proposal outlined on May 31 by President Biden, who repeatedly claimed that Israel agreed to it.
On May 31, Biden said Israel had presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Hamas said it responded "positively" and "responsibly" to all proposals to reach a cease-fire in Gaza and release all detainees. Anadolu