Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is weighing a cabinet meeting as soon as tomorrow to vote on dismissing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, Ynet reports. The deliberations come as the IDF confirms it has resumed military operations in Gaza.
Following last night’s cabinet session, ministers and Netanyahu aides reportedly discussed holding the vote on Bar on Thursday, while Sunday’s meeting could be used to vote on the removal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. A senior Likud minister’s office told The Times of Israel that no official dates have been set for any upcoming cabinet meetings.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet voted late Tuesday to reinstate politician Itamar Ben Gvir as national security minister, following Israel’s renewed offensive in Gaza, which cleared the way for his return to the governing coalition.
Ben Gvir, who withdrew his Otzma Yehudit party from the government in January in opposition to the ceasefire, received unanimous backing from the cabinet, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office on Wednesday.
In Tel Aviv, approximately 40,000 Israelis gathered in Habima Square on Tuesday night to protest Netanyahu’s decision to resume military operations in Gaza and dismiss Bar. Demonstrators accused Netanyahu of jeopardizing the lives of 59 hostages still held by Hamas by ending the cease-fire, while also claiming the move to oust the Shin Bet chief—who was investigating alleged connections between Netanyahu’s aides and Qatar—was politically motivated. Protesters, among the largest crowds since the war began, branded Netanyahu as “Mr. Abandonment” and denounced him as a “traitor” and “dictator,” according to The Times of Israel.
