Still battling Israel’s external enemies on multiple fronts, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu woke up Monday to a new political battlefield at home.
THE departure This weekend, Benny Gantz and his centrist National Unity Party, which emerged from Israel’s wartime emergency government, are unlikely to immediately break Mr. Netanyahu’s grip on power. The Prime Minister’s government coalition still holds a narrow majority of 64 seats out of the 120 seats in Parliament.
But Mr. Gantz’s decision means that Mr. Netanyahu is now totally dependent on his far-right and ultra-Orthodox coalition partners as he pursues the war in Gaza against the growing international opprobriumleaving him increasingly isolated and exposed at home and abroad.
Mr. Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, another powerful member of National Unity, also left Mr. Netanyahu’s small war cabinet. They are both former military leaders who were widely seen as key voices of moderation within the five-member body, formed in October after the Hamas-led attack on Israel sparked Israeli bombing and l ground invasion of Gaza.
The two centrist politicians boosted public confidence in government decision-making at a time of national trauma. They also gave the war cabinet an aura of legitimacy and consensus as Israel fought Hamas in Gaza, as well as its archenemy Iran and its other proxies, including the powerful Hezbollah militia, ‘other side of Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
Mr. Gantz accused Mr. Netanyahu of “political procrastination,” suggesting he had postponed crucial strategic decisions to ensure his political survival. His decision to leave the war government ushers in a new period of political instability and leaves many Israelis wondering where the country goes from here.
Calling the political upheaval “incredibly consequential,” Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, a nonpartisan research group based in Jerusalem, said in a statement that Israelis had already given bad grades in government on a host of war issues. That includes combat management and relations with the United States, Israel’s crucial ally, he said.
“With Gantz out, I expect those ratings to get even lower,” Mr. Plesner said.
Mr. Gantz issued an ultimatum three weeks ago, warning Mr. Netanyahu that he would break up the emergency government unless the prime minister presented clear plans, including who would replace Hamas as leader of Gaza. post-war and how to bring Hamas back to power. the dozens of hostages still held in the Palestinian enclave.
Mr. Gantz joined the government last October to foster a sense of unity in times of crisis. He has joined forces with his political rival, Mr Netanyahu, despite a deep lack of trust between the two and a history of betrayal. The last time Mr. Gantz entered a government with Mr. Netanyahu, in 2020, it also ended badly after Mr. Netanyahu broke their power-sharing agreement. The influence of Mr. Gantz and Mr. Eisenkot, whose son, a soldier, was killed in December during the fighting in Gaza, has declined in recent months, leading many Israelis to wonder why they had not left the emergency government and joined the opposition sooner. Mr. Gantz has called for early elections this fall.
Mr Netanyahu’s official partners remain the war cabinet are his Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, a rival within their conservative Likud party that Mr. Netanyahu I tried to pull Last year; and Ron Dermer, a veteran Netanyahu confidant with more diplomatic than political experience. It is unclear whether it will continue to operate.
A separate, broader security cabinet includes two ultranationalist party leaders: Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, and Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister. Both want to resettle Gaza with Israelis.
Mr. Ben-Gvir and Mr. Smotrich both vowed to bring down Mr Netanyahu’s government whether he follows through on an Israeli proposed deal involving a truce and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, which, as President Biden pointed out more than a week ago, would effectively end at war.
