The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed the threat from war cabinet member Benny Gantz to leave the government, stating that the ultimatum he issued for a war plan against Hamas would harm Israel.
”The conditions set by Benny Gantz are empty words, whose meaning is clear: the end of the war and the defeat of Israel, abandoning most of the hostages, leaving Hamas intact, and establishing a Palestinian state,” stated the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
”Prime Minister Netanyahu believes that the emergency government is crucial for achieving all the war’s goals, including the return of all our hostages, and expects Gantz to clarify his views on these matters to the public,” it emphasized.
On Saturday, Israeli war cabinet member and Defense Minister Benny Gantz threatened to resign from the government if it does not adopt a new war plan for operations in the Gaza Strip within three weeks, by June 8th.
The plan includes the return of hostages, the end of Hamas’s rule, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, the establishment of an international administration for civil affairs, and efforts to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia.
Gantz, a popular politician and longtime political rival of Prime Minister Netanyahu, joined his coalition and war cabinet in the early days of the war against Hamas, an organization designated as a terrorist group by the United States (U.S.) and the European Union (EU).
The departure of the former chief of staff and defense minister would leave Netanyahu even more dependent on far-right allies, who have taken a hardline stance on ceasefire negotiations and hostage releases, and who believe Israel should occupy Gaza and rebuild Jewish settlements there.
Gantz made his statement a few days after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant openly said that he had repeatedly urged the government to decide on a post-war vision for Gaza, which would include the creation of new Palestinian civil leadership, N1 writes.
