Israeli politician and former army commander Benny Gantz has made good on his threat to resign from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s emergency war cabinet, leaving him more reliant on the far-right wing of his coalition government.
Netanyahu’s main rival, Gantz, a former defense minister and leader of the center-right National Unity Party, joined the three-member war cabinet as minister without portofolio following the October 7 Hamas attacks. Gantz said the move was in the interest of national unity.
But as Israel’s war in Gaza drags on, differences have surfaced over strategy and how best to repatriate the 250 Israeli hostages, with Gantz accusing the prime minister of ignoring strategic considerations such as hostage deals for his own political survival. Last month, Gantz gave Netanyahu an ultimatum to present a concrete “next day” plan for the Gaza Strip by June 8.
Gantz postponed his resignation speech by a day following the unexpected rescue of four Israeli hostages in an operation announced by Gaza’s Health Ministry. His party’s departure also means that IDF General and war cabinet observer Gadi Eisenkot and minister without portfolio Chili Tropper are also resigning.
“Netanyahu is preventing us from moving forward toward real victory,” Gantz said in a televised address Sunday night. “And that’s why today, with heavy hearts but with deepest hearts, we leave the emergency government.”
Gantz also called on Netanyahu to set a date for elections, adding that “our country must not be divided.”
The move poses no immediate threat to Netanyahu, who still has a majority coalition in parliament, but it does affect the Israeli government’s reputation on the international stage. Gantz, a centrist, is well-liked in Washington and was seen as an effective brake on Netanyahu. His absence means the prime minister’s far-right allies are likely to have more influence over the course of the Gaza war and the growing threat of war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich blasted Gantz, saying “there is no act more undignified than resigning from the government in wartime” because “kidnapped people are still dying in Hamas tunnels.” Extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has already asked Netanyahu to let Gantz join a wartime government. Both ministers have repeatedly threatened to pull out of the coalition if Israel makes concessions to Hamas on the hostages and the ceasefire.
Netanyahu joined X in response to Gantz’s announcement, saying now was the time to “join forces” rather than retreat.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said “the decision of Gantz and Eisenkot to leave the failed government is important and right.”
“The time has come to replace this extreme and reckless government with a sane government that will restore safety to the Israeli people, the return of the abducted victims, and restore Israel’s economy and international standing,” he added.
Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant are the only two remaining members of the war cabinet, but they often disagree. The prime minister is now said to be considering abolishing the war cabinet and returning to the previous model of discussing security issues in limited forums before bringing them to regular cabinet meetings for ministerial approval.
The longtime prime minister, who is under investigation for corruption allegations as well as security failures that led to the Oct. 7 attacks, is widely believed to believe his best chance of avoiding prosecution is to stay in power, and he also faces an internal challenge from two ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties in his governing coalition over the issue of conscription.
Gantz, 65, joined politics in 2019 after a military career with the clear goal of ending Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dominance of Israeli politics. He was seen as the favorite to lead a new coalition government if the government collapsed and early elections were called, but his popularity has fallen in opinion polls in recent months.
His National Coalition introduced a bill last week to dissolve parliament and call early elections.
