Netanyahu's rival, appeal to the Israeli prime minister and opposition leaders. Proposal made in trying to obtain the Gaza hostage issuing
Benny Gantz, photo: Menahem Kahana / AFP / Profimedia Images
Benny Gatz, former Minister of Defense in Israel, asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday to form a government with opposition members, in an attempt to help release Hamas hostages in the Gaza strip, AFP reports.
Netanyahu's coalition government depends on the support of the far -right members, and they oppose the conclusion of the war and an possible agreement with the Palestinian militant organization, whose October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza War.
Gantz, a rival of Netanyahu, who still joined his government in the first days of the war, proposed a temporary coalition to avoid far right parties and conclude a hostage issuance agreement.
“I am here in the name of the hostages who have no voice. I am here for the soldiers who cry and that no one in this government listens,” Gantz said in a television press conference.
“The duty of our state is, first and foremost, to save the lives of the Jews and all citizens,” Gantz added, asking Yair Lapid and Avigdor Lieberman, opposition leaders, to consider the offer.
Both Lapid and Lieberman had previously rejected the opportunity to join a government led by Netanyahu.
Netanyahu's coalition risks breaking up after the summer vacation of the Israeli Parliament, after losing the support of the ultra -orthodox Jewish parties due to the legislation on the military recruitment of religious seminars.
The reaction of one of the far right ministers
The Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, a far -right member of the coalition led by Netanyahu, who could be removed if Gantz's plan is successful, has been in a hurry to criticize the initiative.
“The right-wing voters have chosen a right-wing policy-not Gantz's policy, not a centrist government, no teaching agreements with Hamas, but yes for absolute victory,” Ben Gvir said in a statement.
The government faced an increasing internal pressure to ensure the end of the Gaza war, and mass protests were organized for completing an agreement that will lead to the issuance of hostages.
Of the 251 people taken Hamas hosts in the 2023 attack, 49 are still in Gaza – about 27 of them the Israeli army says they are no longer alive.
Palestinian militants also hold the inanimate body of an Israeli soldier killed in a 2014 war.
The demonstrations in Israel have intensified since Netanyahu's security office has approved the extension of the Gaza offensive and to occupy the largest city on the Palestinian territory.
