GAZA
Palestinian Hamas movement has said that the Israeli government coalition's collapse was due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "defeat" in a recent Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip.
"The coalition's collapse is a further sign of victory for the resistance in the Gaza Strip over the Israeli occupation," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Tuesday evening.
Earlier in the day, Netanyahu called for an early election after he sacked Finance and Justice Ministers Yair Lapid and Tzipi Livni.
The Israeli premier said that he refused to continue to govern with open dissent from within his coalition government.
Netanyahu's coalition government has faced cracks in recent weeks over a host of issues, including the Jewish State law, which is backed by Netanyahu and opposed by Lapid and Livni.
Other points of disagreement include items with the state budget as well as Lapid's refusal to impose taxes on apartments for young couples.
An August 26 cease-fire between Palestinian factions and the self-proclaimed Jewish state, ended a seven-week Israeli offensive against the embattled coastal enclave, controlled by Hamas since 2007.
The Israeli military onslaught left 2,160 Palestinians dead – the vast majority of them civilians – and some 11,000 injured.
www.aa.com.tr/en
