Israel War Cabinet Member Benny Gantz Has Threatened To Quit The Government

Israel war cabinet member Benny Gantz has threatened to quit the government. He said he will quit Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government in June if Netanyahu doesn’t present a plan for ending the war and securing Gaza. Gantz is a former political opponent of Netanyahu. After the October 7th terror attack, they came together in a unity government.

Mr Gantz has sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza. He wants a clear plan of action from the Netanyahu government with respect to Gaza. Gantz laid down his own ideas for what that plan should look like, including a demilitarized Gaza Strip, with Israeli security control.

Gantz also wants an interim civil administration with Palestinian and international responsibility. His plan supports efforts to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia. That was in motion to happen before the October 7th terror attacks. Gantz says if these specific plans are not adopted, he will leave the government on June 8th. It is clear that Gantz and Netanyahu’s disagreements over Gaza are widening.

“If you choose the path of fanatics and lead the entire nation to the abyss — we will be forced to quit the government,” he said. The departure of the former military chief of staff and defense minister would leave Netanyahu even more beholden to far-right allies.

These allies have taken a hard line on negotiations over a cease-fire and hostage release. They also believe that Israel should occupy Gaza and rebuild Jewish settlements there. Of course, these allies are not in the position that Israel is in. They do not have a terror group that is threatening to wipe them out at their door step.

Netanyahu is under growing pressure on multiple fronts. Hard-liners in his government want the military offensive on Rafah to press ahead with the goal of crushing Hamas. Top ally the U.S. and others have warned against the offensive on the city and have threatened to scale back support.

All of this comes amid bad faith actors, both Hamas, and other nations, trying to derail Israel’s mission to defeat terrorism. More forces are putting pressure on Israel, but Israel has a track record of pushing through any type of pressure they come under.

Israel war cabinet member Benny Gantz has threatened to quit the government. Will this force Netanyahu to accept his proposals? How will this effect Israel’s actions going forward? We will know the answers to these questions very soon.