Bayan News – Following the resignation of Benny Gantz from the Israeli government, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of this country, asked Gantz not to “leave the battlefield.”
On Sunday (June 9), Netanyahu wrote in a short message on the social media platform “X”: “Benny, now is not the right time to leave the battlefield, but rather a time for unity between the forces.”
According to Al-Arabiya, Gantz’s exit from the government does not threaten Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition in the parliament. Of the 120 seats in the Israeli Knesset parliament, 64 seats are held by this coalition.
Ben Gvir’s request to join the “war cabinet”
Itamar Ben Gvir, the Israeli Minister of Internal Security and an extremist right-wing politician, announced on Sunday that he had asked Netanyahu to include him in the “war cabinet” after Benny Gantz’s resignation. Ben Gvir wrote on X: “I have submitted a request to join the war cabinet to the Prime Minister.”
With Benny Gantz’s resignation, the only moderate force has left the ruling right-wing coalition in Israel, and Netanyahu has lost the support of the moderate camp. This camp played an important role in increasing domestic and foreign support for the Israeli government.
Gantz’s statement in the press conference
Benny Gantz announced in a televised press conference: “Netanyahu is preventing us from achieving real victory. That is why today, with a heavy heart but with complete certainty, I am leaving the emergency government.”
Ever since Gantz gave Netanyahu until June 8th to present a clear strategy for the post-Gaza war, the resignation of this 65-year-old politician was expected.
Benny Gantz is seen as one of the main candidates to form a coalition, in the event of the fall of the Netanyahu government and early elections. His centrist party, the “National Unity”, proposed a plan last week for the dissolution of the Knesset and the holding of early elections.
