'Netanyahu Opponent' Gantz Calls for "Early General Election"... Withdraws from Wartime Cabinet

Netanyahu Urges "Do Not Leave the Coalition"

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, faced criticism from his political rival Benny Gantz, leader of the National Unity Party, who declared on the 9th (local time) that Netanyahu prioritizes his political survival over national security and announced his resignation from the wartime cabinet.

According to AP News and others, Gantz held a press conference that evening and stated, "Netanyahu is obstructing the path to a true victory."

Benny Gantz, leader of Israel's National Unity Party
[Photo by Reuters]

He also urged Netanyahu, saying, "Do not let the country be divided," and called for an agreement to hold early elections in the fall, marking one year since the outbreak of the war, to form a new government.

Although Gantz is Netanyahu’s political rival, he supported national unity during wartime and participated in the coalition after Hamas’s surprise attack in October last year triggered the war. However, he is now openly confronting Netanyahu’s continuation of the war without clear objectives, including decisions to expand ground operations and reduce relief efforts.

Earlier last month, Gantz announced that he would withdraw from the wartime cabinet if a new plan for Gaza after the war was not established by the 8th of this month. He had planned to declare his withdrawal the day before but postponed it by one day after the Israeli military announced the rescue of four hostages from Gaza.

Gantz urged Yoav Gallant, the Minister of Defense who holds voting rights in the wartime cabinet, saying, "I expect not only to say the right things but also to do the right things," calling for his resignation. Although Gallant belongs to the ruling Likud party, like Netanyahu, he criticized Netanyahu on the 15th of last month, opposing Israel’s postwar governance of Gaza.

Following Gantz’s speech, Gad Eisenkot and Chili Tropper, members of the National Unity Party, also submitted their resignations. They had been participating as observers without voting rights in the wartime cabinet.

Netanyahu urged Gantz not to leave the wartime cabinet. Through his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), he said, "Now is not the time to give up; it is time to unite."

Experts expressed concern that Gantz’s resignation could amplify the voices of far-right figures within the coalition. Nathan Sachs, director of the Middle East Policy Center at the Brookings Institution, described it as "a dangerous move that removes the moderate voices from the Netanyahu government."

On the same day, far-right members within the coalition criticized Gantz. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich issued a statement saying, "There is nothing less dignified than leaving the government during a war," and pointed out, "This is exactly what Sinwar (Hamas’s Gaza leader), Nasrallah (Hezbollah’s supreme leader), and Iran aimed for."

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Minister of National Security, sent an open letter to Netanyahu, stating, "As a government minister, party leader, and senior coalition partner, I request to join the (wartime) cabinet."

Yohanan Plesner, director of the Israel Democracy Institute, predicted that public dissatisfaction could grow further due to Gantz’s resignation amid a recent sharp decline in government support in opinion polls.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.