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Divisions and disagreements within the Israeli cabinet over the conduct and priorities of the war against Hamas have smoldered since the crisis began.
They boil over as the seven-month conflict threatens to enter a new phase, with new levels of public criticism as well as an ultimatum from one of the three members of the war cabinet. is made clear.
On Saturday, Benny Gantz, leader of the National Unity Party, who joined the war cabinet after the October Hamas offensive, called for the adoption of a six-point plan by June 8 that would ensure the return of Israeli hostages, the demobilization of Hamas and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.
It would also lead to the creation of an alternative government to Gaza, an “American-European-Arab-Palestinian administration,” which would “lay the foundations for a future alternative government that is not Hamas or Hamas.” [Mahmoud] Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority.
The Gantz plan also ensures the return of Lebanon’s residents displaced by attacks by Iran-backed militia Hezbollah, and ensures measures to allow ultra-Orthodox Jews to be drafted into the military like other citizens. It turns out. That was a red line for the religious right in Israel’s cabinet.
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Minister Benny Gantz, pictured in October, is widely seen as the front-runner to become Israel’s next leader.
Gantz, who is widely seen as a front-runner to become Israel’s next leader, said in a public tirade against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “personal and political considerations are beginning to seep into Israel’s security sanctuaries.” added.
“If you choose to lead the country into the abyss, we will withdraw from government, stand up to the people, and install a government that can deliver real victory.”
Gantz added: “Unity cannot be a fig leaf that causes a stagnation in campaign operations.”
Within hours, accusations were flying, exposing the rifts in Israeli politics and the personal animosities that permeate the government.
The prime minister’s office hit back: “The conditions set by Benny Gantz are in clear, washed-out terms: an end to the war and the defeat of Israel, the release of most of the hostages, leaving Hamas intact and the establishment of a Palestinian state,” the paper said in a statement.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a member of the far-right Cabinet, said Gantz was “a small leader and a big schemer, who from the first moment he joined the government has primarily sought to dismantle it.” .
He added: “Those who offered an ultra-Orthodox agreement on conscription laws in exchange for the dissolution of the government and now chant slogans about responsibility are hypocrites and liars.”
From a completely different perspective, opposition leader Yair Lapid said Gantz should act now.
“Enough of press conferences and empty ultimatums, get out! If you were not sitting in the government, we would already be in the post-Prime Minister Netanyahu and Ben Gvir era,” he said. said.
Jack Ghez/AFP/Getty Images
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid participates in an anti-government demonstration in Tel Aviv on May 18, 2024.
Gantz’s broadside attack was not isolated. Last week, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the third member of the wartime cabinet, spoke about decisions he said should have been made at the start of the war. He also said: “I do not agree with the establishment of Israeli military control in Gaza.” Israel must not establish civilian rule in Gaza. ”
It is against this backdrop of civil war that Israeli forces continue to fight in Gaza, but it is unclear how their mission will end or what their plans will be for the day after the gunfire subsides.
Gantz himself spoke of Saturday, saying, “While Israeli soldiers have shown the utmost courage on the front lines, some of those who sent them into battle are acting cowardly and irresponsibly.”
Israeli commentators said Sunday that the illusion of cabinet unity that had been fostered in the early stages of the conflict had been shattered.
The Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday that the comments were notable because they were “the first time Gantz publicly accused a prime minister of putting his political survival above the national interest.” For the first time, he set a clear deadline for remaining in government. ”
Anshel Pfeffer, writing in Haaretz newspaper, said that the author of Gantz’s speech “simply recycled dozens of leaks about wartime cabinet departments over the past few months.”
Mr. Pfeffer, author of the unauthorized biography “Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu,” concluded at the end of a week of political turmoil that “two of the three wartime ministers… We are making public accusations.” The third member, Prime Minister Netanyahu, had no strategy for the war, which has been going on for seven and a half months. ”
Despite all this, Mr. Pfeffer and other analysts say that Mr. Netanyahu’s presence in the three-person war cabinet, with Mr. Gantz and Mr. Gallant, gives him protection from right-wing members of a larger cabinet. It is argued that it may continue to be maintained.
Leo Correa/AP
People protesting against the Netanyahu government in Tel Aviv.
Some of them want Israel to rebuild settlements in the Gaza Strip and a more aggressive approach in the north. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who wants Israeli forces to take control of Gaza after clearing out Hamas, also called on Sunday for Israeli forces to move into southern Lebanon and set up a safe zone if Hezbollah rocket attacks continue. .
On Saturday night, Gantz told Netanyahu: “Tonight, I look you in the eye and say: The choice is in your hands.”
He said the moment of truth had come.
do you have? For the next three weeks, a compromise could keep the war cabinet intact. And Gantz is not part of a broad coalition, meaning a potential departure from the wartime cabinet will not automatically cause the collapse of Netanyahu’s government.
But that would leave the prime minister even more exposed to demands from far-right members of his cabinet.
All of this is reflected in Israel, from those calling for immediate elections, to those demanding that securing the release of the hostages should be an absolute priority, to those calling for an end to further humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. This is happening at a time when protests are happening almost every day. And Israeli forces are fighting in northern, central and southern Gaza as they prepare for what appears to be the toughest phase of the operation to date.
