JAKE SMITH
The Israeli war cabinet took a loss after Minister Benny Gantz stepped down on Sunday, according to multiple reports.
Gantz, one of three voting members of the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had warned that he would leave his post this weekend if the prime minister failed to provide a post-war plan for Gaza, which is currently embroiled in a conflict between Hamas and Israeli forces, according to The Washington Post. His leave is the latest blow to Netanyahu, who is facing pressure from the U.S. to accept a ceasefire deal and from lawmakers in Israel’s right-wing collation to keep the war going.
“Don’t let our people be torn apart.”
Politician Benny Gantz accused Israel’s PM Netanyahu of mismanaging the war in Gaza as he quit the war Cabinet and called for new elections. pic.twitter.com/8hOp2W8S7I
— DW News (@dwnews) June 9, 2024
“Netanyahu prevents us from moving forward to a real victory [in Gaza],” Gantz said in a public statement on Sunday, noting that his departure to leave the war cabinet was a “complex and painful” decision, according to CNN. “That is why we are leaving the emergency government today with a heavy heart, but with a whole heart.”
Netanyahu and Gantz have had a strenuous relationship, as Gantz is the leader of the centrist opposition party in Israel, but had put their differences aside to form the war unity cabinet after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and killed 1,200 people, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Netanyahu’s government can survive Gantz’s absence, but could force the prime minister to rely more on the government’s right-wing coalition, according to the Post.
The Biden administration and a host of Western allies are pressuring Israel into accepting a ceasefire deal, which President Joe Biden claimed on May 31 was an Israeli proposal. Netanyahu has hinted that he will not accept any ceasefire deal that forces Israel to end the conflict before Hamas has been thoroughly eradicated.
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