A key member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israeli war cabinet, who threatened to leave amid serious differences over the war in Gaza, has indefinitely postponed a news conference scheduled for Saturday night, citing “recent developments.”
The decision comes as Israeli authorities announced they had rescued four hostages who had been held in Gaza since October 7 in a “complex” operation in central Gaza.
Benny Gantz, a centrist opposition leader, has said he will resign unless Netanyahu addresses his concerns about how the war will end and what will happen after it, as pressure mounts on Netanyahu to end the conflict and present a detailed plan. . to govern the territory when the fighting ends. Last month, Gantz said he would resign on Saturday, although there was no public indication whether he would serve out his mandate.
If he left, he would be unlikely to force Netanyahu from office. Gantz and his party have not been part of the prime minister’s right-wing ruling coalition, which has a 64-seat majority in Israel’s 120-member parliament.
But Gantz’s threat has once again exposed fractures within Israel’s leadership as frustration grows at home over the failure to decisively defeat Hamas or bring home all the hostages held in Gaza.
Gantz joined the powerful war cabinet, which makes many of the decisions on the Gaza conflict, after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, in a show of unity in a crisis. He brought stature to the role as former military chief of staff, former defense minister and popular opposition figure, seen as Netanyahu’s main political rival.
Critics say Netanyahu has failed to articulate a coherent plan for what is known as “the day after”: how Gaza will be run once the fighting subsides and by whom. He has rejected the Biden administration’s view that the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, should help govern Gaza in some way.
And he has refused to publicly accept a ceasefire proposal backed by Biden, a proposal that Israeli officials say coincides with a proposal approved by the war cabinet. Netanyahu, seeking to quell unrest among far-right members of his governing coalition, has said he will not accept any deal that would end the war without the total destruction of Hamas’s military and governance capabilities. Hamas has also not publicly endorsed the proposal.
Like Netanyahu, Gantz has ruled out agreeing to establish an independent Palestinian state or hand over control of postwar Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, raising some questions about how substantially he differs ideologically from the prime minister.
But he has been among the most prominent voices pushing for a ceasefire. Analysts said his departure could embolden far-right ministers in Netanyahu’s coalition, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who have threatened to topple the government if it goes ahead with the latest ceasefire proposal. .
Gantz has been one of Netanyahu’s most moderate associates and helped boost the government’s international credibility.
Gantz, a candidate to replace Netanyahu if elections were held, said last month he would resign on Saturday unless the prime minister reached an agreement with the war cabinet on plans to bring back the hostages and establish the future government. from Gaza. , return displaced Israelis to their homes and advance the normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia, among other issues.
Amid differences within the Israeli government over how to move forward, the war has continued and the death toll in Gaza has continued to rise. Israeli troops have returned to parts of central and northern Gaza to quell what they say is a renewed Hamas insurgency there.
Protests by the hostages’ relatives have become more strident in Israel. And thousands of people displaced from northern Israel amid bombing by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have little idea when they will return.