Israeli wartime cabinet member Benny Gantz has threatened that he will leave the government if a new military plan is not adopted by June 8, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
Gantz asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to commit to an agreed vision of the Gaza conflict, which would specify who could rule the territory after the war with the Palestinian radical movement "Hamas,", according to Reuters.
At a press conference, Gantz said he wanted the military cabinet to draw up a new plan by June 8. He warned that if his expectations were not met by then, he would withdraw his centrist party from the Conservative prime minister's emergency government.
"If you choose the path of the fanatics and lead the whole nation to the abyss, we will be forced out of government," Gantz declared.
AP notes that a possible withdrawal of Gantz's party would make Prime Minister Netanyahu more dependent on his far-right allies. The agency stressed that Gantz's warning today will deepen divisions within Israel's leadership more than seven months into the war, in which it has yet to achieve its stated goals of eliminating "Hamas" and to return dozens of hostages kidnapped in the attack on October 7 last year.
Gantz laid out a six-point plan that includes the return home of dozens of hostages, ending the rule of "Hamas", demilitarizing the Gaza Strip and establishing an international administration for civilian affairs, while also supporting efforts to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia.
Gantz - a popular politician and longtime political rival of Netanyahu - joined his coalition and military cabinet in the early days of the war. The departure of the former army chief of staff and defense minister would make Netanyahu even more dependent on far-right allies who have taken a hard line on ceasefire and hostage-free talks and who believe Israel should occupy Gaza and to build the Jewish settlements there.
Gantz announced his intentions just days after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, the third member of the military cabinet, publicly said he had repeatedly urged the cabinet to decide on a post-war vision for Gaza that would see the creation of a new, civilian Palestinian guide.