On Monday, Netanyahu disbanded the war cabinet after Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot resigned from the body. The war cabinet was set up as a unity coalition in response to the October 7 attack to advise the Israeli leader on decisions about the war in Gaza.
However, Gantz and Netanyahu disagreed on potentially negotiating with Hamas to get the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza released. After Netanyahu effectively killed a ceasefire agreement that would see the release of the Israelis, Gantz and Eisenkot left the war cabinet.
Other Israeli ministers initially sought to fill those seats. To prevent this, Netanyahu dissolved the body and formed a small forum of the remaining war cabinet members: himself, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister and Netanyahu confidant Ron Dermer, and Shas leader Aryeh Deri, and National Security Advisor head Tzachi Hanegbi to make decisions about the war in Gaza.
Dermer and Deri are reported to be confidants of Netanyahu.
A source speaking with Haaretz said Netnayahu wanted to consolidate power and prevent far-right ministers from filling the seats. “In practice, there is no substantial change in the decision-making process, but Netanyahu’s announcement to dissolve the war cabinet allows [National Security Minister] Itamar Ben-Gvir to step back and not insist on being part of the limited decision-making forum,” the source said.
While Netanyahu may want to exclude Ben-Gvir from decision-making, the two agree on many issues about the war. After the Israeli military announced it would pause fighting along one road in Gaza to allow aid trucks to enter the Strip, both Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir rebuked the IDF for the policy.