Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel's three-member war cabinet, has threatened to resign from the government unless it adopts a new plan for the Gaza war within the next three weeks.
DEIR ALBALA, Gaza Strip — Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel's three-member war cabinet, threatened Saturday to resign from the government unless it adopts a new plan for the Gaza war within three weeks. will increase Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's dependence on far-right allies.
His announcement opens up rifts within the Israeli leadership, more than seven months into a war that has yet to achieve its stated goals of dismantling Hamas and returning scores of hostages abducted in the October 7 attack. Escalate it further.
Gantz detailed a six-point plan that includes returning many hostages, ending Hamas control, demilitarizing the Gaza Strip and establishing an international civilian administration. He also supports efforts to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia.
He has said he will resign from government if the bill is not passed by June 8. “If you choose the path of fanaticism and lead the entire country into the abyss, we will be forced to quit the government,” he said.
Gantz is a popular politician and longtime political opponent of Netanyahu who joined Netanyahu's coalition government and war cabinet early in the war.
The former military chief of staff and defense minister's resignation has seen Prime Minister Netanyahu take a hard line on negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release, further entrenching far-right allies who believe Israel should occupy Gaza and rebuild Jewish enclaves. You will be indebted to him. A village there.
Gantz publicly stated that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, the third member of the wartime cabinet, had repeatedly appealed to ministers to define a post-war vision for Gaza with an eye to creating a new Palestinian civilian leadership. He said this a few days after he said that.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is under increasing pressure on multiple fronts. Hardliners within the government want to press ahead with a military offensive on Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, with the goal of crushing Hamas. Key allies, including the United States, have warned of attacks on the city where more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million people had fled (where hundreds of thousands of people are currently displaced) and reduced support for Gaza's humanitarian crisis. He is threatening to do so.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will visit Saudi Arabia and Israel this weekend to discuss the war and is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, adding that if necessary, Israel will “I will stand alone,” he declared.
Many Israelis, anguished over the hostages and accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of putting political interests above all else, want an agreement to end the fighting and release the hostages. Fresh complaints arose on Friday when the military announced that troops in the Gaza Strip had found the bodies of three hostages killed by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack. On Saturday, it was announced that the fourth hostage's body had been found.
Recent talks aimed at a ceasefire brokered by Qatar, the United States and Egypt have yielded little results. The post-war vision is also unclear.
The war began after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages. Israel has announced that about 100 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip, and about 30 more bodies remain.
Israeli military attacks have killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and hundreds more in the occupied West Bank, according to local health officials.
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Jeffrey reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv contributed to this report.
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