Global Courant
Israeli War Cabinet member Benny Gantz has threatened to quit Benjamin Netanyahu’s government if the prime minister fails to present a post-war plan for Gaza by June 8.
At a press conference on Saturday, Gantz called on the Cabinet to agree to a six-point plan setting out a vision for governing the besieged strip once the conflict is over.
The Israeli politician, a former defense minister, said if his demands were not met he would withdraw his centrist party from the emergency unity government formed last year to oversee the war on Gaza.
Gantz is seen as Netanyahu’s main political rival in Israel. Before joining the war cabinet, he was a leading figure in the opposition.
His ultimatum deepens rifts within the Israeli government and increases mounting pressure against Netanyahu, amid mounting domestic and international criticism of his policies in Gaza.
Gantz’s plan calls for releasing Israeli prisoners in Gaza, demilitarizing the area and forming an international coalition with “American, European, Arab and Palestinian elements” to oversee civilian affairs.
Echoing Netanyahu’s position, Gantz said that neither Hamas nor Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas can rule Gaza after the war.
Demilitarization of Gaza would require the complete dismantling of Hamas’s military wing, which the Israeli army has failed to achieve after 225 days of fighting. The position also aligns with Netanyahu’s frequent calls for “total victory.”
Still, Gantz took a thinly veiled swipe at the prime minister and his far-right allies. “If you choose the path of fanatics and lead the entire nation to the abyss, we will be forced to leave the government,” he said.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza has killed more than 35,000 people and destroyed much of the besieged enclave. There are still more than a hundred Israeli prisoners in the area.
Talks to reach a prisoner deal and ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appear to have stalled, with Netanyahu’s government rejecting Palestinian demands to end the war on Gaza.
Under an earlier agreement – brokered by the United States and Qatar – approximately 134 prisoners were released in November; Israel has also released dozens of Palestinian prisoners, including children.
Gantz’s request is one of the strongest expressions of the increasing tension within the war cabinet. In another rare public dispute, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had also said on Thursday that Israel should not be involved in the governance of Gaza once the fighting is over.
“What we are seeing more and more in recent days is that there is a tremendous amount of disagreement among the members of the war cabinet over the future plan for Gaza,” said Al Jazeera correspondent Mohamed Jamjoom.
“And this also reflects the concerns of the US government, which has repeatedly said that Netanyahu should try to come up with a plan for a post-war Gaza scenario,” he added.
Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken chided Israel for lacking a plan in some of his strongest public criticisms.
“First, you have to have a clear, credible plan to protect civilians, which we haven’t seen yet. Second, we also need to see a plan for what happens after this conflict in Gaza is over, and we still haven’t seen that,” he said.
In addition to opposition within his own government, Netanyahu is also facing increasing demonstrations in cities across Israel.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv to demand the prime minister’s resignation, citing his failure to return prisoners and his handling of the war.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid also attended the protests on Saturday and vowed to work towards the fall of Netanyahu’s government and the return of Israeli prisoners. In a post on social media, Lapid – himself a former prime minister – later called the current cabinet “the worst government in the country’s history”.
Relatives of the prisoners gathered outside Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv and called on Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, a former army chief of staff and current member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet, to replace the prime minister.
“How much more blood will be shed because you lack the courage to do what is right? It is your duty to expose the truth, it is your moral duty to quickly remove Netanyahu from power for leaving the hostages to die,” the Hareetz newspaper reported, referring to the families at the press conference.
“The only way to save all hostages is to stop this war, as part of a signed comprehensive agreement for the release of hostages,” the group added.
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