Israel War Cabinet Minister Threatens To Resign Over Post-War Gaza Plan, Netanyahu Responds
In a televised address, Gantz said that the war cabinet must chalk out a plan to realise six strategic goals of national importance.
Israel-Gaza War: Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz on Saturday threatened to resign from the government unless Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out and approved a post-war plan for the Gaza Strip. In a televised address, Gantz said that the war cabinet must chalk out a plan by June 8 to realise six strategic goals of national importance.
"The war cabinet must formulate and approve by June 8 an action plan that will lead to the realisation of six strategic goals of national importance.. (or) we will be forced to resign from the government," Gantz said, as quoted by AFP.
Speaking on the six goals, Gantz stated that the goals included toppling Hamas, ensuring Israeli security control over the Palestinian territory, and returning Israeli hostages. "Along with maintaining Israeli security control, establish an American, European, Arab, and Palestinian administration that will manage civilian affairs in the Gaza Strip and lay the foundation for a future alternative that is not Hamas," he said, as quoted by AFP.
Netanyahu Responds To Gantz Ultimatum
The Israeli PM’s Office has rejected Gantz’s threat to resign from the government, saying the ultimatum he laid out for the war plan against Hamas would harm Israel, as reported by CNN. He also said that the minister’s words mean a defeat for Israel in the war.
On Saturday, Netanyahu responded to Gantz's threat by slamming the minister's demands as "washed-up words whose meaning is clear: the end of the war and a defeat for Israel, the abandoning of most of the hostages, leaving Hamas intact, and the establishment of a Palestinian state," as quoted by AFP.
Israeli Opposition Leader Tells Gantz To Leave Govt
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid urged war cabinet ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot to “get out” of the government. He suggested that their exits from the government could lead to the removal of Netanyahu.
Responding to Gantz’s, Lapid said, “Enough with the press conferences, enough with the empty ultimatums, get out! If you weren't sitting in the government, we would already be in the post-Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir era,” as quoted by CNN.
Another Slain Hostage Recovered From Gaza
The Israeli military said on Saturday that its forces have recovered the body of Ron Binyamin from Gaza, Reuters reported. He was among 252 people seized by Hamas-led Palestinian gunmen in a cross-border Oct. 7 rampage that triggered the ongoing war. Chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Binyamin was found along with three other slain hostages whose repatriation was announced on Friday.