JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's defense minister has officially submitted his resignation, leaving the government with the narrowest of parliamentary majorities and paving what looks like a clear path to early elections.
Avigdor Lieberman dispatched a once-sentence letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, informing him of his decision to step down.
The abrupt resignation came in protest to a cease-fire reached with Gaza militants after two days of intense fighting. The hard-line Lieberman had demanded a far harsher Israeli response to the wave of Gaza rocket fire against Israel, the strongest since the 50-day war in 2014, but was overruled by Netanyahu.
Lieberman says the cease-fire amounts to "surrender to terrorism."
Netanyahu now only has the support of 61 out of 120 lawmakers and the days of his government seem numbered.
Disclaimer: This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Associated Press (AP) wire.
