Israel war cabinet minister demands post-war Gaza plan, threatens to quit cabinet

Gantz said he wanted the war cabinet to form a six-point plan by June 8. If his expectations are not met, he said, he will withdraw his centrist party from the conservative premier's broadened emergency coalition.
Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz demanded on Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commit to an agreed vision for the Gaza conflict that would include stipulating who might rule the territory after the war with Hamas.
Gantz told a press conference he wanted the war cabinet to form a six-point plan by June 8. If his expectations are not met, he said, he will withdraw his centrist party from the conservative premier's broadened emergency coalition.
More To Read
- Gaza’s lifeline under fire as over 1,400 health workers killed in targeted attacks
- Dozens of students arrested in pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University
- UN and Palestinians accuse Israel of blocking Gaza aid at World Court hearings
- UN warns of catastrophe in Gaza and West Bank as conflict, aid blockade worsen
- South Africa condemns Israel's bombing of hospitals in Gaza
- Israeli military changes initial account of Gaza aid worker killings
Gantz, a retired top Israeli general who opinion polls show is Netanyahu's most formidable political rival, gave no date for the prospective walkout but his challenge could increase strains on an increasingly unwieldy wartime government.
Netanyahu appears outflanked in his own inner war cabinet, where he, Gantz and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant alone have votes. On Wednesday, Gallant demanded clarity on post-war plans and for Netanyahu to forswear any military reoccupation of Gaza.
If the prime minister were to do that, he would risk angering ultra-nationalist coalition parties that have called for Gaza to be annexed and settled. Losing them could topple Netanyahu, who before the war failed to enlist more centrist partners, given his trial on corruption charges he denies.
"Personal and political considerations have begun to penetrate the Holy of Holies of Israel's national security," Gantz said. "A small minority has seized the bridge of the Israeli ship and is piloting it toward the rocky shoal."
Gantz said his proposed six-point plan would include bringing a temporary US-European-Arab-Palestinian system of civil administration for Gaza while Israel retains security control.
It would also institute equitable national service for all Israelis, including ultra-Orthodox Jews, who are now exempted from the military draft and have two parties in Netanyahu's coalition determined to preserve the waiver.
Top Stories Today
- Turkana to take over Sh2bn infrastructure project
- Congo gold miner halts operations in tax dispute with M23
- How your spice rack could boost your immunity
- Cold showers: The wellness trend making waves, but are they for everyone?
- Silent but deadly: Growing burden of respiratory diseases in Kenya
- Samsung to launch ultra-slim Galaxy S25 edge globally on May 12: What to expect
- Leaders in Garissa empowered on handling alternative justice system
- First white South Africans to arrive under US refugee plan as soon as next week
- Sudan envoy defies junta’s orders to cut ties with UAE, saying it is "irrelevant"
- How officers recruitment freeze has affected police-to-civilian ratio- KNBS
- Lamu records highest increase in ID card applications as border regions see surge
- Seven dead, houses submerged as heavy rains cause severe flooding in Mogadishu
- EAC central banks adopt master plan to modernise cross-border payments
- Health Ministry begins issuance of title deeds to safeguard public facilities from land grabs
- Chef Mohamud shares his recipe for crispy chicken wings you can make at home
- Google messages to roll out 'Delete for Everyone' feature on Android
- Consumers to benefit from decline in global commodity prices, says World Bank
- Private sector dominates Kenya’s borehole drilling as state spending dips
- Senate starts probe on expired medicine crisis in counties
- Cheluget family backs Ruto’s Narok land deal for resettlement