Top adviser to Israeli premier resigns

By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) – Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, a top adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, announced his resignation on Tuesday, local media said.

In a letter to Netanyahu, Dermer said he had promised his family to serve only two years in office, the daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

Dermer, a former Israeli ambassador to the US, was one of Netanyahu's senior envoys in laying the groundwork for the US-sponsored normalization agreements known as Abraham Accords and played a major role in countering the Iranian nuclear program.

In February, he was asked by Netanyahu to lead Israel’s negotiating team for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage swap deal with Hamas.