Benny Gantz, an Israeli opposition leader in the country\u2019s three-man war cabinet, said Saturday that if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn\u2019t offer a new plan to bring back hostages and end Hamas rule in Gaza by June 8, he\u2019ll leave the government. <\/p>\n
While such a move wouldn\u2019t collapse the ruling coalition \u2014 it has 64 seats out of a 120-seat parliament \u2014 it would greatly increase already mounting pressure on Netanyahu seven months after the Hamas attack devastated Israel and led it to wage an unforgiving war in Gaza. <\/p>\n
Netanyahu instantly rejected the demand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe conditions set by Benny Gantz are washed-up words whose meaning is clear: the end of war and defeat for Israel, abandoning most of the hostages, leaving Hamas intact and the establishment of a Palestinian state,\u201d Netanyahu said in a statement. <\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s military is trying to destroy Hamas fighting units in the southern city of Rafah \u2014 an operation that\u2019s already forced half a million Palestinians to flee \u2014 and Netanyahu was indignant that in the midst of the fighting Gantz is threatening to break up the cabinet. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s no secret that Gantz and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have been barely on speaking terms with Netanyahu in recent weeks over his management of the war and the way he has alienated US President Joe Biden and his administration, which oppose the Rafah operation.<\/p>\n
Last Wednesday, Gallant gave his own statement accusing Netanyahu of failing to create a so-called day-after plan for Gaza, saying Israel was headed to re-occupying the territory, which he considers unacceptable. Gantz offered his support for Gallant shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n
At his press event on Saturday, Gantz went much further, laying out a long list of demands. He made reference to the war cabinet\u2019s initial successes, saying it has now fallen apart.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor many months unity was indeed real and meaningful,\u201d he said. \u201cBut lately something has gone sour. Essential decisions were not made. Acts of leadership required to ensure victory were not taken. A small minority has taken over the command bridge of the Israeli ship and is leading it into a concrete wall.\u201d <\/p>\n
He added, \u201cPersonal and political considerations began to penetrate the Holy of Holies \u2014 Israel\u2019s security.\u201d<\/p>\n
The opposition\u2019s complaints against Netanyahu are that he\u2019s allowed his far-right coalition partners to dictate policy simply so that he can stay in power, ignoring entreaties by the US and Arab nations like Saudi Arabia. <\/p>\n
Netanyahu says, however, that only after Hamas is defeated and Gazans are no longer afraid of it can a plan for the future emerge. <\/p>\n
Gantz listed numerous demands, including defeating Hamas, demilitarizing Gaza and bringing in a coalition of Arabs, Americans and Palestinians to manage civilian affairs in the ravaged coastal strip. He said Israelis who\u2019ve been evacuated from the north because of ongoing battles with Lebanon\u2019s Hezbollah need to be returned to their homes by September. He said Netanyahu needs to promote relations with Saudi Arabia and come up with an elusive plan for conscripting religious men. <\/p>\n
Otherwise, he said, \u201cIf you choose to follow the path of fanatics and lead the entire nation to the abyss, we will be forced to resign from the government.\u201d He said he\u2019d \u201cturn to the people and establish a government that will win the people\u2019s trust.\u201d <\/p>\n
How exactly he can do that remains unclear. But if five members of Netanyahu\u2019s own Likud party can be persuaded to abandon him and join the new opposition, that could collapse the government and create elections. <\/p>\n
Gantz, who\u2019s been consistently polling ahead of Netanyahu as a future prime minister, addressed the nation\u2019s leader personally: \u201cI have known you for many years as an Israeli leader and patriot: you know very well what needs to be done. The Netanyahu of a decade ago would have done the right thing. Are you able to do the right and patriotic thing today?\u201d<\/p>\n
Netanyahu, 74, is the country\u2019s longest serving prime minister. After being indicted for bribery and fraud five years ago, centrist politicians increasingly declined to serve with him, and he turned to parties on the extreme right to build his most recent government in late 2022.<\/p>\n
The war began when Hamas broke into Israel on Oct. 7 and killed 1,200, kidnapping another 250 to Gaza. Israel\u2019s response, aimed at uprooting Hamas as a military and political entity, has destroyed whole neighborhoods and killed some 35,000 people, according to Hamas officials who don\u2019t distinguish between fighters and civilians. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and European Union. <\/p>\n
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