Israel defence minister Lieberman resigns after Gaza ceasefire, calls for elections

JERUSALEM

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced his resignation on Nov. 14 and called for early elections after a sharp disagreement over a Gaza ceasefire deal, throwing the government into turmoil.

"The truce combined with the process with Hamas is capitulating to terror. It has no other meaning," Lieberman told reporters.

"What we're doing now as a state is buying short-term quiet, with the price being severe long-term damage to national security," he added.

Lieberman also called for other parties to agree on a date for elections “as soon as possible.”

He said his party was leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, leaving the premier with only a one-seat majority in parliament.

Lieberman, a security hardliner, heads the right-wing Yisrael Beitenu party, which holds five seats in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament.

He also fiercely objected to Israel's allowing Qatar to deliver $15 million in aid to Gaza last week.

Netanyahu has defended the ceasefire deal that ended the worst escalation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since a 2014 war.

Hamas, Palestinian faction controlling Gaza Strip, called Lieberman's resignation a "political victory for Gaza."