Gantz threatens to quit Israeli government if no new war plan by June 8

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Benny Gantz has threatened to leave Israel’s government if it does not commit to a new plan for the war with Hamas and its aftermath, in an ultimatum that raises political pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a televised statement on Saturday evening, Gantz, an opposition figure who joined Netanyahu’s coalition after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, demanded the government agree a six-point plan, including a template for Gaza’s postwar governance, by June 8.

If his demands are not met, Gantz said that he would withdraw his centrist National Unity party — which polls suggest would emerge from new elections as the biggest group — from the government.

“The choice is in your hands,” Gantz said, addressing Netanyahu directly. “The Netanyahu of a decade ago would have done the right thing. Are you willing to do the right and patriotic thing today?”.

Gantz’s ultimatum brings to a head months of tensions within Netanyahu’s government over the handling of the war. It comes just days after defence minister Yoav Gallant slammed Netanyahu for the lack of a postwar plan for Gaza, the enclave Hamas has ruled since 2007.

The departure of the National Unity party would not automatically topple Netanyahu’s five-party coalition or trigger early elections, as Netanyahu and his far-right and ultrareligious allies would still control 64 seats in Israel’s 120-seat parliament.

But it would mark the end of cross-party co-operation that followed the October 7 attack. It would also make Netanyahu increasingly beholden to the two extreme right parties in his coalition, led by finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Both men have demanded that Israel adopt a more aggressive approach to the war, as well as pushing for the re-establishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza — considered illegal by most of the international community — once the war is over.

In the six point plan that he set out on Saturday, Gantz said that, alongside Israeli security control, an international “civilian governance mechanism” for the enclave should be set up with US, European, Arab and Palestinian involvement.

He also said that the plan should include the return of the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza; the defeat of Hamas and demilitarisation of the enclave; the return of Israelis to areas in the north that have been evacuated since the start of the war; steps towards normalisation with Saudi Arabia; and a framework for expanding Israel’s military service.

Gantz framed his ultimatum to Netanyahu as a choice between his vision and that of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. “If you choose the path of fanatics and lead the entire nation to the abyss, we will be forced to quit the government,” he said.

“The people of Israel are watching you. You must choose between Zionism and cynicism, between unity and factionalism, between responsibility and lawlessness — and between victory and disaster.”