Israel's Netanyahu Fires Hawkish Cabinet Minister Rivals

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired his education and justice ministers, days after parliament voted to hold new elections.

An official in Netanyahu's office confirmed that Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked, two hawkish former allies, were dismissed from the interim government. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

There was no explanation for Sunday's firings.

Last week Israel's parliament voted to hold early elections, less than two months after April's polls, as Netanyahu failed to muster a governing coalition.

Shaked, the justice minister, and Bennett, the education minister, have not said if they are running in September's election. Their New Right party failed to enter parliament in April, but they remained on the job pending formation of a new government.