Israel’s War Minister Avigdor Lieberman officially tendered his resignation on Thursday a day after announcing he would step down to protest a ceasefire agreement with Hamas that brought an end to a major flare-up in violence in the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Lieberman will hold a final meeting with top officials later on Thursday the Kan news broadcaster reported. His resignation will go into effect 48 hours after he submitted the letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lieberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party is also quitting Netanyahu’s coalition leaving the premier with only a two-seat advantage over the opposition in parliament and throwing his government into further turmoil.
Netanyahu has not yet named Lieberman’s replacement and has not indicated if he will comply with the ultimatum by the Jewish Home party which is demanding the war portfolio in the wake of Lieberman’s departure.
On Wednesday Lieberman told reporters he was resigning over the ceasefire reached with Gaza resistance groups following an unprecedentedly intense two-day rocket barrage the besieged enclave.
“What happened yesterday the ceasefire together with the deal with Hamas is a capitulation to terror. There is no other way of explaining it” Lieberman told reporters adding that early elections should be called for as soon as possible.
