The leader of the National Unity party accused the prime minister of “preventing a real victory” in Gaza while four Israeli hostages were released on Saturday.
Correspondent in Jerusalem (Israel)
It was Saturday evening that Benny Gantz was scheduled to speak to announce his resignation from the War Cabinet. The announcement of the release of four hostages on Saturday caused him to postpone his press conference until Sunday evening. But he confirmed his decision “ complex and painful » to break ranks with Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he accused “ to prevent a real victory » in Gaza as much “ political considerations get in the way of strategic decisions ».
Benny Gantz is the leader of the National Unity party, which has been leading the polls for months. Although an opponent of Benjamin Netanyahu, he agreed to join the War Cabinet, founded after October 7. He sat there alongside another opposition figure, Gadi Eisenkot. The disagreements between these men and Benjamin Netanyahu were notorious. During May, they pushed Benny Gantz to threaten to leave the War Cabinet if a series of problems were not resolved before June 8. On Saturday evening, the Prime Minister asked his rival to remain within his coalition despite everything.
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But the fact is that the six questions raised by Benny Gantz still await a solution. Firstly, there is the return of the hostages, to which he attaches more importance than the “ victory against Hamas », favored by the extremist wing of Benyamin Netanyahu’s coalition. There is also the question of the post-war period and that of the establishment of a political alternative to Hamas in the Gaza Strip; that of the return of 60,000 Israelis evacuated from the north of the country, where the situation is increasingly tense; that of possible normalization with Saudi Arabia and, finally, the eternal problem of the conscription of the ultraorthodox.
Hot topics
So many hot topics. “ By leaving the government on these six points, Benny Gantz lays down the elements structuring his vision of Israel’s foreign policy. This will allow him to create a divide with Benyamin Netanyahu. He wants to embody a central position by returning him to his Faustian alliance with Ben Gvir and Smotrich »analyzes David Khalfa, of the Jean Jaurès Foundation.
In fact, Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, leader of the right-wing nationalist Jewish Force party, “ required » Sunday to enter the Israeli War Cabinet after the resignation of Benny Gantz.
With his resignation, Benny Gantz becomes the leader of the opposition, taking this role from Yair Lapid, former prime minister and leader of the Yesh Atid party, who had refused to join the crisis government. Benny Gantz’s objective should be to precipitate elections – Benjamin Netanyahu’s mandate runs until the fall of 2026.
Deprived of this relatively moderate presence within his government, Benjamin Netanyahu is condemned to govern only with his early allies, namely two ultra-Orthodox parties and two religious Zionist parties. He is in no danger of losing his majority in the Knesset. But the radical positions of these cumbersome supporters could plunge him into an impasse. For the ultraorthodox, there is no question of renouncing the exemption from military service enjoyed by the “ torah students “. For Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, the war in the Gaza Strip is above all an opportunity to empty this territory of its Palestinian population and establish Israeli colonies there.
Humiliation for Hamas
While the country is plunged into a crisis that seems deeper every day, the release of four hostages obtained on Saturday thanks to a daring military operation was welcomed with great joy in Israel, but does not resolve the crucial problems facing the Hebrew state is confronted.
This victory was obtained at the cost of a heavy human toll: according to the Hamas Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, 274 dead and 698 injured, “ some of whom are in critical condition. » The very high number of Palestinian casualties can be partly explained by the fact that the raid took place in broad daylight, in a shopping district of the Nuseirat refugee camp. A place in which the Israeli army had not yet intervened and whose population has increased since the evacuation of the town of Rafah, in the very south of the Gaza Strip.
The images relayed on social networks by Palestinians present on the spot show the intensity of the attack. It redoubled when an unmarked truck broke down in the middle of the refugee camp, with three recently released hostages on board and members of the Israeli special forces confronted by Hamas fighters streaming in from all sides. On the Israeli side, an officer was killed during the operation.
Israel still excels in heavy-hitting and heroic operations
The Israeli army needed this success. After eight months of war in the Gaza Strip following its inability to prevent the October 7 terrorist attack, its image has significantly deteriorated in Israeli society. Analyst at Maariva center-right newspaper, Ben Caspit is happy to see that Israel “ always excels in punchy and heroic operations ». But he also deplores that the country “ is much less good for the long-term strategy ». An allusion to the vagueness of the military objectives which were set by Benjamin Netanyahu: in addition to the release of the hostages, the “ dismantling of Hamas ». A mission which looks more and more like a challenge for the Israeli army, which seems condemned to go around in circles in the Gaza Strip. “ When there is no clear objective, there is no victory, it’s as simple as that »concludes the commentator.
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The release of these four hostages is a humiliation for Hamas, struck at the heart of the rare territories it still controls in the Gaza Strip. On Sunday, he announced the death of three Israeli hostages during the Nuseirat operation. Mohammed Marsaoui, a senior member of the movement, denounces “ a massacre committed with the help of the United States » and promises, threateningly, that “ the resistance will take measures that will have consequences on the lives of the hostages » still in the hands of the Islamist movement. There are 120 left, around 40 of whom are believed to have died. The question is what consequences the Nuseirat operation will have on the negotiations for their release. The Islamist movement is reportedly evaluating an Israeli proposal. What are his intentions? “ This operation will not change the price that Israel will have to pay »launched another leader of the movement.
