January 9, 2025

Benny Gantz, a member of the country’s war cabinet, resigned after announcing his resignation at a press conference on June 9, 2024.

Amir Levy | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The resignation of Israel’s war cabinet minister Benny Gantz from the emergency government is a decisive blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is expected to further solidify the far-right support base opposed to the ceasefire in Gaza.

Gantz, a centrist former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, co-founded and led the National Unity Party, which joined Netanyahu’s emergency government after the Gaza war broke out. Netanyahu withdrew from the coalition after he missed a June 8 deadline to present a concrete plan for post-war governance of the Gaza enclave.

Netanyahu has previously proposed “ex post facto” terms for Gaza that would include Israel’s “overall security responsibility” for the territory and steadfastly refuses to split it into an independent Palestinian state.

Gantz announced his resignation on Sunday as Netanyahu celebrated the rare rescue of four hostages captured in an Oct. 7 terror attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which triggered Israeli retaliation against Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz hold a press conference at the Kiria military base in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 28, 2023.

Pool | Reuters

Gantz said: “Unfortunately, Netanyahu is preventing us from moving towards real victory, which is why we pay the continued painful price of the war. That is why we are today with heavy hearts, but full of Leave emergency government with confidence.

“I am honored to join my friends in bringing all our experience to the cabinet room. I know others who live there too. Mainly Defense Minister Yove Gallant. But also the Prime Minister himself. They know hope. They were able to insist on what was supposed to be done – and then it was OK,” Ganz added.

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Netanyahu on Saturday taken to social media According to Google Translate, he implored Gantz to stay in the emergency government, stressing that “this is a time for unity, not division.”

Current opposition leader Yair Lapid welcomed the decision by Gantz and his ally Gadi Eisenkot to leave the emergency government, calling it “important and right”.

“It is time to replace this extreme and chaotic government with a sane government that will restore security to Israeli citizens, return abductees, and restore Israel’s economy and international standing,” Lapid said, in Google Translate social media posts.

Gantz’s withdrawal comes at a fragile time for Netanyahu’s government, which faces growing domestic dissatisfaction over the management of the war and the rescue of dozens of hostages believed to still be held in Gaza. Israel has also drawn international criticism for the proportionality of its military response and the risks to Palestinian civilians, including the United Nations Supreme Court ordering a halt to war operations in Rafah and the International Criminal Court prosecutor seeking an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. application, Gallant and three Hamas leaders were investigated over allegations related to the conflict in Gaza.

According to official Israeli data, about 1,200 people have been killed in Israel since the conflict in Gaza broke out. According to Gaza’s health ministry, the death toll in the enclave has exceeded 37,000 during this period.

Gantz’s outright departure would send shockwaves but would not eradicate Netanyahu’s government. Eran Etzion, the former deputy chairman of Israel’s National Security Council, told CNBC on Monday that the Israeli prime minister could return to a coalition of far-right supporters and ultra-Orthodox parties.

“In order to retain power, Netanyahu will continue to juggle his base and the demands of the United States. The pro-democracy movement will also increase its pressure on the streets. And the very unpopular ‘draft law’, in fact The complete exemption of all ultra-Orthodox men from military service is also expected to increase the government’s legitimacy,” Etzion said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center in Ramat Gan, June 8, 2024, amid ongoing tensions between Israel and the militant group Hamas in the Palestinian territories conflict.

Jack Guess | AFP | Getty Images

Meanwhile, Nimrod Goren, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, stressed to CNBC that Netanyahu is currently unlikely to antagonize his far-right coalition partners, undermining the possibility that Israel will ultimately support a Gaza ceasefire proposal .

“Gantz’s resignation reduces the likelihood that Netanyahu will agree to a deal that would require the IDF to significantly halt its operations in Gaza and release large numbers of Palestinian prisoners,” Goren said.

Far-right politicians have already slammed the framework, with National Security Minister and leader of the far-right Jewish Power party Itamar Ben-Gver calling it “a mixed deal, a victory for terrorism but also for security” threaten”.Google Translate to the State of Israel social media posts. He further threatened to dissolve the government if the proposal was implemented.

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According to Google, Finance Minister and Religious Zionist Party Chairman Bezalel Smotrich similarly said that he “will not be the one to agree to the proposed platform and end the war without destroying Hamas and returning all those kidnapped part of the government of the person”. – translated Social media updates.

But Etzion said Gantz’s departure would not change the scope of the ceasefire proposal.

“Gantz’s position on the deal is actually the same as Netanyahu’s,” he said, noting that Gantz and Lapid have pledged they will support the proposal among their ranks. “The deal was and is Netanyahu’s decision. He can win a majority for any decision he wants to make. That was true when Gantz came in and it will be true when he steps down.”

CNBC has contacted the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office for comment.

CNBC’s Dalya Al Masri contributed to this report.

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