TEL AVIV, Israel - Israel’s prime minister came under fire from members of his own government on Wednesday after he agreed at an open-ended truce with Hamas militants in Gaza. "[Economy Minister] Naftali Bennett opposed the cease-fire, and in general opposes any cease-fire that does not allow Israel to act against terror,” Bennett's spokesman told NBC News. According to the Israeli media, Netanyahu did not give members of his security cabinet the opportunity to vote on the proposed cease-fire due to opposition from ministers who wanted to continue the fighting.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz earlier reported that Bennett, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch and Communications Minister Gilad Erdan had made clear their objections to the truce before it was announced. It isn't only some political allies who are unhappy with the prime minister: A poll broadcast on Israel's Channel 4 on Monday found that only 38 percent of Israelis were satisfied with Netanyahu, down from a peak of 82 percent on July 23.
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Reuters contributed to this report.
