Cease-fire agreement sends tremors through Israeli Knesset
While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cease-fire agreement with Gaza led Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman to submit his resignation, it also led the opposition to call for early elections.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Israeli opposition withdrew Nov. 21 motions to dissolve the Knesset due to the lack of majority support for such motions within the Knesset. If the opposition submits proposals now and these are voted down, then it would not be able to submit them again for another six months, according to Knesset procedure.
Haaretz newspaper reported that the opposition is waiting for a more opportune time to reintroduce the motions as it wants the government to be unstable in order to guarantee that they would pass.
Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni had called Nov. 14 for the dissolution of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and for holding early general Knesset elections. This came after Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman announced his resignation to protest Netanyahu's cease-fire agreement with the Gaza Strip on the evening of Nov. 13. Liberman deemed such an agreement as a kind of deference to terrorism. His resignation went into effect Nov. 18.
Residents of southern Israel have also expressed their rejection of the cease-fire by taking to the streets in protest of the Israeli government’s decision. They called for a war on Gaza to ensure their safety and so Israel could regain its deterrent power against Hamas.
