Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said in an interview on Hadashot TV this weekend that government ministers knew they would face a firestorm from Israelis if they agreed to a ceasefire with Hamas.
However, security chiefs were unanimous in urging the ministers accept the truce with Hamas arranged by Egyptian mediators.
Kahlon told the interviewer the decision “came from a sense of great responsibility” even though “we knew it would be unpopular.”
He went on to say that “according to the information they have, they are right. But according to the information we (security cabinet ministers) have — and I heard from the head of the Shin Bet, and the head of the Mossad, and the head of the Mossad, and the head of military intelligence — all these officials in the highest security offices in Israel tell us not to [escalate hostilities]…I’m includes to accept their opinions.”
The decision, however, ultimately led to a political tsunami, with Yisrael Beytenu Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman resigning his post and Bayit Yehudi Education and Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett threatening to pull his party from the coalition as well, if he does not succeed Liberman as defense minister.