JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under increasing pressure from his own war cabinet and his country’s closest ally over postwar plans for Gaza, even as the war with Hamas shows no signs of ending. .
On Saturday, Benny Gantz, a member of the War Cabinet and Netanyahu’s main political rival, said he would leave the government on June 8 if he did not formulate a new war plan that would include an international, Arab and Palestinian administration to handle civil affairs in Loop. .
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the third member of the cabinet, also called for a plan for the Palestinian administration and said in a speech this week that he would not accept Israel ruling Gaza itself.
Meanwhile, the United States has called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza with help from Saudi Arabia and other Arab states before an eventual statehood. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is expected to push those plans when he visits Israel on Sunday.
So far, Netanyahu has ignored them all. But Gantz’s ultimatum could reduce his room for maneuver.
Netanyahu has ruled out any role for the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, saying he plans to hand over civil responsibilities to local Palestinians not affiliated with it or Hamas. But he has also said that it is impossible to make such plans until Hamas is defeated because it has threatened anyone who cooperates with Israel.
Netanyahu’s government is also deeply opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state.
In a statement issued after the ultimatum, Netanyahu said Gantz’s conditions would amount to “the defeat of Israel, the abandonment of the majority of the hostages, the abandonment of Hamas intact and the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
Netanyahu added, however, that he still thought the emergency government was important to prosecute the war and that he “hopes Gantz will clarify his positions to the public.”
Gantz’s departure would leave Netanyahu even more beholden to his far-right coalition allies, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who could more easily topple the government if not. meets their demands.
They have called on Israel to reoccupy Gaza, encourage “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians from the territory and restore Jewish settlements that were eliminated in 2005.
Netanyahu’s critics, including thousands of people who have joined weekly protests in recent months, accuse him of prolonging the war for his own political survival. Gantz, who led his centrist party into government days after the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war, warned Netanyahu not to “choose the path of fanatics and lead the entire nation into the abyss.”
Netanyahu denies such accusations and says he is focused on defeating Hamas and that elections would distract from the war effort.
Polls indicate that Netanyahu would be ousted from office if new elections were held, and that Gantz would likely replace him. This would likely mark the end of Netanyahu’s long political career and expose him to prosecution on long-standing corruption charges.
Israeli media have reported growing discontent within the country’s security system over the course of the war, with officials warning that the lack of such planning was turning tactical victories into strategic defeats.
With no one else to govern Gaza, Hamas has repeatedly regrouped, including in the hardest-hit areas that Israel had previously said it had cleared. Heavy fighting has broken out in recent days in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north and in the Zeitoun neighborhood on the outskirts of Gaza City.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops are advancing toward parts of the southern city of Rafah in what they say is a limited operation. The fighting has displaced some 800,000 people, many of whom had already fled other areas, and has severely hampered the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Meanwhile, indirect talks brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt aimed at a ceasefire and the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas appear stalled, with many of the hostages’ families and their supporters blaming the Israeli government.
“Something went wrong,” Gantz said in his speech. “No essential decisions were made. The acts of leadership necessary to ensure victory were not carried out. A small minority has seized the bridge of the Israeli ship and is directing it towards a wall of rocks.”
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