Israel’s defence minister Moshe Yaalon quit on Friday, according to Reuters,saying the nation was being taken over by "extremist and dangerous elements" after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked right wing ultranationalist politician Avigdor Lieberman to replace Yaalon in a “shock move.” Reuters describes Lieberman as a “settler in the occupied West Bank,” who “has stirred controversy by questioning Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s commitment to peace and the loyalty of Israel’s Arab minority, while pushing for stronger military action against Gaza’s Hamas rulers.” The newswire quotes an anonymous Egyptian official as saying “we’re shocked, we’re really shocked” as he noted that “the Lieberman appointment came just a day after a speech by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi promised Cairo’s help to try to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Lieberman had previously proposed bombing Egypt’s Aswan Dam.