JERUSALEM, Israel
Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel’s three-man war Cabinet, announced his resignation Sunday, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of mismanaging the war effort and putting his own “political survival” over the country’s security needs.
The move does not immediately
pose a threat to Netanyahu, who still controls a majority coalition in
parliament.
But the Israeli leader becomes
more heavily reliant on far-right allies who oppose the latest U.S.-backed
cease-fire proposal and want to press ahead with the war.
“Unfortunately, Netanyahu is
preventing us from achieving true victory, which is the justification for the
painful and ongoing price,” Gantz said. He added that Netanyahu was “making
empty promises,” and the country needs to take a different direction as he
expects the fighting to continue for years to come.
The popular former military
chief joined Netanyahu’s government shortly after the Hamas attack in a show of
unity.
His presence also boosted
Israel’s credibility with its international partners. Gantz has good working
relations with U.S. officials.
Gantz had previously said he
would leave the government by June 8 if Netanyahu did not formulate a new plan
for postwar Gaza.
He scrapped a planned news
conference Saturday night after four Israeli hostages were dramatically rescued
from Gaza earlier in the day in Israel’s largest such operation since the
eight-month war began.
At least 274 Palestinians,
including children, were killed in the assault, Gaza health officials said.
Gantz called for Israel to
hold elections in the fall, and encouraged the third member of the war Cabinet,
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, to “do the right thing” and resign from the
government as well.
Gallant has previously said he
would resign if Israel chose to reoccupy Gaza, and encouraged the government to
make plans for a Palestinian administration.
On Saturday, Netanyahu had
urged Gantz not to leave the emergency wartime government.
“This is the time for unity,
not for division,” he said, in a direct plea to Gantz.
Gantz’s decision to leave is
largely “a symbolic move” due to his frustration with Netanyahu, said Gideon
Rahat, chairman of the political science department at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem.
He noted it could further
increase Netanyahu’s reliance on extremist, right-wing members of his
government, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance
Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
“I think the outside world,
especially the United States, is not very happy about it, because they see
Gantz and his party as the more responsible people within this government,”
Rahat said.
On Sunday evening, Ben-Gvir
demanded a spot in the war Cabinet, saying Gantz and the smaller Cabinet had
bungled the war effort due to “dangerous” ideological decisions.
Hamas took some 250 hostages
during the Oct. 7 attack that killed about 1,200 people. About half were
released in a weeklong cease-fire in November. About 120 hostages remain, with
43 pronounced dead.
At least 36,700 Palestinians
have been killed in the fighting, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which
does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
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