In what may be seen as the first governmental casualty of the recent mass protests on high prices, the General Director of the Finance Ministry, Haim Shani, resigned Sunday morning. In a statement, Shani said that he had resigned because of differences of opinions with Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz over how to respond to demands of tent-city protesters and others demanding social change.

“Our difference of opinion on substantial issues, which have continued for a long time, and the way things have been handled brought me to this decision,” Shani wrote in the statement. “The events of recent days have exacerbated the problems that I described, and strengthen my belief that under the current circumstances I cannot fulfill my duties in this position as I see fit.”