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Israel’s strategic affairs minister, Ron Dermer, a key aide of Benjamin Netanyahu, has announced his resignation after weeks of media speculation.
One of the most influential members of the country’s rightwing government, Dermer led months of intense negotiations before the US-led Gaza ceasefire deal that came into effect last month.
In his resignation letter, Dermer, who was appointed in 2022, said he had promised his family he would not serve for longer than two years, and praised the Israeli prime minister’s singular leadership.
“This government will be defined both by the [Hamas] attack on October 7th [2023] and by the prosecution of the two-year ... war that followed,” he wrote.
“We rejected moral equivocation and fear to confront our enemies with clarity and courage. Two years later, we have dealt a devastating blow to Iran’s terror axis and are now powerfully positioned to usher in an age of security, prosperity and peace.”
Dermer’s departure follows weeks of speculation in Israeli media. Critics accuse the US-born 54-year-old of failing to bring the war in Gaza to an earlier end, with some saying he helped Netanyahu drag out the conflict to avoid potential imprisonment on corruption charges if ousted from office.
Also on Wednesday, Israeli’s president, Isaac Herzog, received a letter from Donald Trump urging him to consider a pardon for Netanyahu.
“While I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli justice system, and its requirements, I believe that this ‘case’ against Bibi, who has fought alongside me for a long time, including against the very tough adversary of Israel, Iran, is a political, unjustified prosecution,” the US president wrote.
Since the ceasefire took effect in Gaza, Hamas has freed all 20 living hostages it was holding and returned the remains of 24 other deceased captives.
Dermer, a former ambassador to Washington, played a key role in US-Israeli relations throughout the conflict. Netanyahu appointed him in February to lead the truce talks, despite being little known among Israelis.
The appointment as negotiator drew immediate criticism over his lack of military experience, his rare appearances on Hebrew-language media and what some describe as his limited understanding of the country’s language and culture.
Elections are due in Israel within a year, and some analysts predict early polls.
A majority of Israelis across the political spectrum support the establishment of a powerful state inquiry under a panel appointed by the supreme court president to determine responsibility for the failures that enabled Hamas to launch its 2023 incursion into southern Israel, during which militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 hostage. Four bodies are yet to be returned.
The ensuing Israel offensive killed nearly 69,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians.
Netanyahu rejected fresh opposition calls to establish such an inquiry on Monday, suggesting it would not have “broad-based support” and that another format would be better. Opposition politicians fear a government commission would have lesser powers and be easier to influence.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed reporting
