Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under increasing pressure from his own government after war cabinet minister Benny Gantz requested on Saturday that he commit to an agreed-upon strategy for the Gaza conflict, including determining who would control the enclave after the war with Hamas.
Gantz stated at a news conference that he expected a six-point strategy from the war cabinet by June 8, threatening to pull his centrist party out of the conservative premier’s expanded emergency coalition if his demands were not fulfilled.
“Personal and political considerations have begun to penetrate the Holy of Holies of Israel’s national security,” Gantz said in his Saturday’s statement. “A small minority has seized the bridge of the Israeli ship and is piloting it toward the rocky shoal.”
According to Gantz, one of the six points of his proposed plan would be to establish a provisional civil administration system for Gaza under the U.S.-European-Arab-Palestinian framework, with Israel maintaining security oversight.
A third member of the Cabinet, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, similarly demanded a plan for Palestinian government and stated in a speech this week that he would not consent to Israel running Gaza.
The United States, Israel’s most important international ally, is also calling for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza with the help of Saudi Arabia and other Arab states before achieving ultimate statehood, an issue that White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is expected to push when he visits Israel on Sunday.
If the prime minister were to follow their advice, however, he would run the danger of upsetting ultra-conservative coalition parties that support the takeover and colonization of Gaza. Losing their support could lead not only to the fall of Israel’s right-wing government but also that of Netanyahu himself, who was being tried on corruption accusations before forming his executive.
Gantz’s demands would equate to a “defeat for Israel, abandoning most of the hostages, leaving Hamas intact and establishing a Palestinian state,” according to a statement released by Netanyahu following the ultimatum.
The 74-year-old prime minister has stated that he intends to transfer civil responsibilities to local Palestinians who are not associated with Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, ruling out any role for the latter in Gaza. However, he has also said that since the militia has threatened anybody who works with Israel, no such preparations can be made until the organization is fully eradicated – a process which might take years, or decades, to fulfill.
As Israeli soldiers advance into areas of the southern city of Rafah in what they claim is a limited operation, the country’s media has documented rising dissatisfaction inside the nation’s security apparatus. According to polls, if fresh elections were held, Netanyahu would almost certainly lose and be replaced by Gantz. That would likely be the end of Netanyahu’s lengthy political career and put him in danger of being charged with corruption.
