Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz quits emergency government
Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has resigned from the emergency government, indicating deepening divisions regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans for Gaza following the conflict.
Addressing reporters in Tel Aviv on Sunday, Gantz expressed his resignation with a sense of sorrow, stating, “Unfortunately, Mr. Netanyahu is hindering our path to achieving true victory, which is essential amidst the ongoing crisis.”
Regarded as a potential contender for leadership in Israel, Gantz urged Netanyahu to schedule elections.
Netanyahu responded via a post on X, saying, “Benny, now is not the time to withdraw from the fight; it’s time to unite forces.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid supported Gantz’s decision, calling it “significant and appropriate” on social media.
Following the announcement, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir demanded inclusion in the war cabinet.
Ben-Gvir is part of a right-wing coalition that has threatened to dissolve the government if Israel agrees to a ceasefire proposal by US President Joe Biden.
threatened to quit and collapse the government if Israel accepts a ceasefire proposal put forward by US President Joe Biden.
Last month, Mr. Gantz set a deadline of 8 June for Mr. Netanyahu to lay out how Israel would achieve its six “strategic goals”, including the end of Hamas rule in Gaza and the establishment of a multinational civilian administration for the territory.
The prime minister dismissed the comments at the time as “washed-up words” that would mean “defeat for Israel”.
A retired army general and frequent critic of Mr. Netayanhu, Mr. Gantz had been a member of Israel’s key decision-making “war cabinet”, along with the prime minister and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
During the news conference, Mr Gantz said he is not only personally resigning from the government, but withdrawing the National Unity party he chairs, too.
The move will not topple the Israeli government, since Mr Netanyahu will still hold a comfortable majority of 64 in the 120-seat Knesset.
It does, however, further isolate the prime minister and lay bare the deep political divisions over how he is running the war.
The resignation also comes one day before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken makes a three-day trip to the region, where he plans to visit Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Qatar to press for a ceasefire agreement.
A political rival of Benjamin Netanyahu and a former IDF chief of staff, Mr. Gantz’s centrist National Unity party was in opposition until 11 October 2023 when, after the start of the war following Hamas’s 7 October attacks, he agreed to form an emergency government with Mr. Netanyahu.
National Unity holds five posts in the emergency government.
Mr Gantz’s influence in the government was widely seen as a counterbalance to that of far-right members of Mr Netanyahu’s coalition.
In a separate development on Sunday, Israel’s army announced the resignation of a senior commander who headed the IDF’s Gaza division over what he called his failure to prevent the 7 October attacks.
Brigadier General Avi Rosenfeld is the first IDF combat commander to step down since the attacks.
1 comment
Israel should be careful.