Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz quits the emergency government.
Benny Gantz, the minister of Israel's war cabinet, resigned from the emergency government, indicating growing disagreements with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's post-conflict plans for Gaza.
When he announced his retirement on Sunday at a press conference in Tel Aviv, Mr. Gantz stated that the choice was made with a "heavy heart". "Unfortunately, Mr Netanyahu is preventing us from approaching true victory, which is the justification for the painful ongoing crisis," he stated. Viewed by some as a possible rival for the Israeli premiership, Mr. Gantz urged Mr. Netanyahu to schedule an election date.
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Benny, this is not the time to quit the campaign, this is the time to join forces," Mr. Netanyahu wrote in response in a post on X. Mr. Gantz, a former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), is a political adversary of Mr. Netanyahu. Up until October 11, 2023, when the war broke out as a result of Hamas's October 7 strikes, he and Mr. Netanyahu formed an emergency government, his moderate National Unity party was in opposition. Five positions are held by National Unity in the emergency administration.
On social media, current opposition leader Yair Lapid supported Mr. Gantz's decision, calling it "important and right." Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right minister of national security, immediately demanded a position in the war cabinet following the decision. Mr. Ben-Gvir is a member of a right-wing coalition that has vowed to resign and bring down the government in the event that Israel agrees to US President Joe Biden's proposed ceasefire. Many people believed that Mr. Gantz's influence in the cabinet balanced that of the far-right members of Mr. Netanyahu's coalition.
Mr. Gantz gave Mr. Netanyahu until June 8th to outline Israel's six "strategic goals," which included putting an end to Hamas rule in Gaza and establishing a civilian administration with international participation. At the time, the prime minister denounced the remarks as "washed-up words" that would result in "defeat for Israel". Together with the prime minister and defense minister Yoav Gallant, Mr. Gantz, a retired army commander and frequent opponent of Mr. Netayanhu, had been a part of Israel's crucial "war cabinet" that made decisions.
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In addition to leaving the administration directly, Mr. Gantz said during the press conference that he was leaving the National Unity party, which he chairs. With 64 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, Mr. Netanyahu will continue to command a strong majority, meaning that the action won't bring down the Israeli government. Nonetheless, it exposes the profound political rifts over the prime minister's handling of the war and serves to further isolate him. In addition, the resignation is made the day before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's three-day tour to the area, during which he intends to push for a cease-fire deal by stopping in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, andQatar.
A senior officer who oversaw the IDF's Gaza division resigned on Sunday, according to the Israeli army, due to his perceived inability to stop the October 7 attacks. Since the attacks, the first IDF combat leader to resign is Brigadier General Avi Rosenfeld.
