Netanyahu rejects Gantz’s on leaving the Cabinet… determining to military victory to eliminate Hamas

Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday to adhere to an agreed vision for the Gaza conflict, including who might govern the territory after the end of the war with Hamas.

Gantz said in a news conference that he wanted the war cabinet to draw up a six-point plan by June 8.

He said that if his expectations weren’t met, he would withdraw his centrist party from Netanyahu’s emergency government.

Gantz didn’t give a date for the expected withdrawal, but the decision could increase pressure on Netanyahu’s government, which is facing increasing difficulties.

Gantz is a retired military commander who polls show is Netanyahu’s strongest rival.

Netanyahu appears to be trapped in a war government, where he, Gantz and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant alone have the right to vote.

Gallant on Wednesday demanded clarification of post-war plans and called on Netanyahu to abandon the idea of occupying Gaza militarily again.

If Netanyahu does so, he risks angering the ultra-nationalist coalition parties that call for annexation and settlement in Gaza.

Netanyahu could risk being ousted if these parties lose.

Before the war, Netanyahu failed to bring in more centrist partners by prosecuting him on corruption charges he denies.

“Personal and political considerations are beginning to penetrate the Holy of Holies in Israel’s national security… A small minority took control of the cockpit of the Israeli ship and directed it towards the rocky shallow waters,” Gantz said.

He said his proposed six-point plan would include the establishment of a temporary US-European-Arab-Palestinian civil administration system for Gaza while Israel retains security control.

The plan would also provide for fairness in the performance of national service for all Israelis, including ultra-Orthodox Jews who are currently exempt from military conscription and have two parties in Netanyahu’s coalition that are determined to maintain that exemption.

Netanyahu was quick to respond to Gantz, saying his demands “have a clear meaning: the end of the war and the defeat of Israel, the abandonment of most of the hostages, the abandonment of Hamas intact and the establishment of a Palestinian state”.

Instead, Netanyahu clung to his long-standing goal of “eliminating” Hamas, asserting that there is no alternative to military victory”.

Benny Gantz said he chose to threaten the prime minister rather than Hamas.

Netanyahu said in a statement, “Gantz has chosen to set his conditions at a time when our army is fighting against Hamas in Gaza”.

“I reject the deadline offered by Gantz and reiterate my absolute rejection of the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of the normalization deal with Saudi Arabia”.

He continued, “The conditions set by Gantz are a play on words and their meaning is clear the end of the war, the defeat of Israel, the neglect of most of the kidnapped, keeping Hamas in power and the establishment of a Palestinian state”.

“Our heroic soldiers were not in vain, and they certainly didn’t fall, so we can replace Hamasstan with Fathistan,” he said.

For his part, Israeli National Defense Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded on Saturday as he wrote on X to the speech of Benny Gantz.

“Benny Gantz is a small leader but a big acrobat, from the first moment he joined the government he was only busy trying to dismantle this government,” Ben Gvir said.

“His travel to Washington is contrary to what the prime minister wanted and after this visit the US administration became hostile to us; This visit is a small part of Gantz’s plots”.

“The man who received Mahmoud Abbas at his home, brought in Palestinian workers from Gaza, led the gas surrender agreement with Lebanon, removed important security checkpoints in the West Bank and endangered the lives of Golani Brigade soldiers because he cared for the safety of the Palestinians; This man is the last one who can talk about security options”.

“Whoever proposed to the Haredim agreements on the conscription law in exchange for the overthrow of the government and now throws slogans about responsibility, is simply a sycophant and a liar,” Ben-Gvir explained.

“The time has come to dissolve the military council, which is mired in the assumptions of the past, and to change the policy towards a responsible and strong one,” he said.