A member of Israel's three-member War Cabinet has threatened to quit if the government does not adopt a new plan for the war in Gaza.
Prominent centrist Benny Gantz has threatened to resign if a new strategy isn't developed within the next three weeks, underscoring a deepening divide in Israel's leadership. This comes seven months into a war during which Israel has failed to achieve its goals of destroying Hamas and retrieving hostages abducted during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
Gantz's own six-point plan includes: bringing hostages home, ending Hamas' rule, demilitarizing Gaza, establishing an international civilian administration with American, European, Arab, and Palestinian cooperation, supporting normalization with Saudi Arabia, and expanding military service to all Israelis.
Gantz warned Israeli leaders: "If you choose the path of fanatics and lead the entire nation to the abyss, we will be forced to quit the government."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded in a statement by saying Gantz had chosen to issue an ultimatum to the prime minister instead of to Hamas, and called his conditions "euphemisms" for Israel's defeat, reported the Associated Press reported.
If Gantz, a longtime political rival of Netanyahu, quits the cabinet, that would leave Netanyahu even more reliant on far-right allies, who take a hard line on negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release ,and who believe Israel should occupy all of Gaza and rebuild Jewish settlements there.
Gantz's announcement comes just days after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the third member of the War Cabinet, stated that he would resign from his post if Israel decided to reoccupy Gaza and fail to produce a post-war plan.
"The people of Israel are watching you," Gantz said in his prime-time address to Netanyahu.
Netanyahu is feeling the heat from different directions.
Hard-liners want to keep up the military offensive in Gaza's southern city of Rafah.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and other allies are warning against the offensive in a city where many Gaza residents sought refuge, with hundreds of thousands now displaced.
Thousands of Israelis rallied again on Saturday evening, demanding a new deal and new elections.
Polls indicate that Netanyahu could be replaced, with Gantz being the most likely candidate to become the next prime minister, which could potentially expose Netanyahu to prosecution on longstanding corruption charges.
