Israeli Minister Gantz vows to resign for lack of post-war plan

Israeli War Minister Benny Gantz has threatened to resign unless Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presents a post-war plan for the Gaza Strip.

Mr Gantz set a June 8 deadline for a plan to achieve six “strategic objectives”, including the end of Hamas rule in Gaza and the establishment of a multinational civil administration for the territory.

“If you prioritize the national aspect before the personal aspect, you will find in us partners in the struggle,” he declared. “But if you choose the path of the fanatics and lead the entire nation into the abyss, we will be forced to leave the government.”

Mr. Netanyahu rejected the remarks, calling them “unusable words” that would mean “Israel’s defeat.”

The war cabinet was established in the days following the October 7 attacks, which saw fighters from Hamas and other militant groups kill around 1,200 people and take another 252 hostages after crossing into Israel from Gaza.

Mr. Gantz’s comments come just days after another member of the war cabinet, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, urged Mr. Netanyahu to publicly declare that Israel had no intention of taking over. civil and military power in Gaza.

Mr. Gallant said he had raised the issue repeatedly for months but received no response.

The episode shows a growing rift between Israel’s war cabinet and Mr Netanyahu’s government.

Gantz and Gallant say maintaining control over Gaza would increase Israel’s security risks, while others, including far-right members of Mr Netanyahu’s governing coalition, say some control over Gaza is needed to defeat Hamas.

In a televised speech on Saturday, Mr. Gantz told Mr. Netanyahu that “the people of Israel are watching you.”

“You must choose between Zionism and cynicism, between unity and factions, between responsibility and anarchy, between victory and disaster,” he said.

Also among the six strategic goals he set were the return of all Israeli and foreign hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinian civilians to northern Gaza by September 1.

He also said Israel should continue to seek normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia as part of a “comprehensive process aimed at creating an alliance with the free world and the West against Iran and its allies.” .

In response to the speech, Mr. Netanyahu said that meeting Mr. Gantz’s demands would lead to “an end to the war and a defeat for Israel, the abandonment of most of the hostages, the preservation of Hamas intact and to the establishment of a Palestinian state.