(17 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jerusalem – 17 June 2024
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Joe Federman, The Associated Press:
"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has disbanded his War Cabinet. That could complicate international efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu formed the war cabinet shortly after the war erupted last October. He brought in his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, but also his main political rival, Benny Gantz. Gantz is a respected former military chief and ex-defence minister. By bringing him on board, this sent an important message of unity to the Israeli public. But the two men had not been getting along in recent months and last week Gantz announced his resignation. He said he was unhappy with the way that Netanyahu was managing the war. That set the stage for Netanyahu to disband the War Cabinet altogether. This doesn’t bring his government down, but it transfers most decision making or important decision making back to his security cabinet. That is a broader body of senior cabinet ministers. Many of them are hard liners who oppose the cease fire efforts and want to press even harder with the war in Gaza. Now, the main backers of this ceasefire plan the U.S., Qatar and Egypt, have been pressing hard to get Israel and Egypt to accept this plan. They’ve been having a hard time. That job is now going to be even harder."
++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++
STORYLINE:
Israeli officials say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved the influential War Cabinet that was tasked with steering the war in Gaza.
The three-person War Cabinet was dissolved a week after Benny Gantz, a popular opposition lawmaker and former military chief, quit Netanyahu’s governing coalition in frustration over how the war was being handled.
In the early days of the war, Gantz demanded a small Cabinet with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant be formed as a way to sideline far-right lawmakers in Netanyahu’s government.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the change with the media, said Monday that going forward Netanyahu would hold smaller forums with some of his government members for sensitive issues.
According to Associated Press journalist Joe Federman the dissolving of the War Cabinet could complicate international efforts to broker a new cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Critics say Netanyahu’s wartime decision-making has been influenced by ultranationalists in his government who oppose a deal with Hamas for a cease-fire in exchange for the release of hostages.
Those hard-line politicians have voiced support for the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians out of Gaza, currently home to some 2.3 million people, and a return to military occupation over the territory.
Netanyahu denies the accusations and says he has the country’s best interests in mind.
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 37,100 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.
The war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians who are facing widespread hunger.
Israel launched the war after Hamas’ October 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.
===========================================================
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/1266ab664d9f4192a5a4c22cb1ebf94e
