Israeli opposition leader threatens to quit war cabinet

Tel Aviv: Benny Gantz, a current member of Israel's emergency war cabinet, held a press conference Wednesday evening in which he called for early elections for the Knesset to be held in September.

The call came after demonstrations by opponents of the Benjamin Netanyahu government demanding new elections now turned violent in which protestors assaulted police.

He also threatened to quit the government if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to do so.

Beny Gantz, who is a former IDF (Israel Defence Forces) Chief of staff and former Minister of Defense was a member of the opposition in the Knesset before the October 7 massacre, but then joined the emergency government. Gantz also condemned the violence commuted by protestors.

"We must agree on a date for elections in September, about a year from the war," Gantz said in his televised press conference.

"Setting such a date will allow us to continue the military effort while signaling to the citizens of Israel that we will soon renew their trust in us." Israel last held national elections on November 1, 2022.

New elections would ordinarily not take place for four years, in November 2026. But in Israel a government can fall and the Knesset dissolved, leading to early elections. This September would mark less than two years since the last elections.

(ANI)