Gantz announces resignation from Israeli war cabinet

Israeli opposition figure Benny Gantz announced on Sunday his resignation from the government’s war cabinet after “political consultations.” The former chief of staff said that he was leaving the emergency government “with a heavy heart, but with a whole heart,” and suggested that elections should be held in the autumn.

“Fateful strategic decisions are met with hesitancy and procrastination due to political considerations,” explained Gantz. “I call on [Israeli PM] Netanyahu: set an agreed election date. Don’t let our people be torn apart. We all need to act as one for elections after which we will form a unity government – Zionist, national and stately; a true unity government.”

He claimed that he resigned from the war cabinet because Netanyahu “is preventing us from advancing towards true victory, which is the justification for the painful and prolonged cost.”

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Addressing the families of the hostages held in Gaza, Gantz said that Israel did a lot but failed to return them all. He noted that he stands behind the guidelines approved by the war cabinet and calls on Netanyahu to have the courage to move forward with them.

The Israeli war cabinet began its meeting on Sunday evening without the participation of Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot from the State Camp party. On Saturday evening, Gantz had announced the cancellation of a press conference during which Israeli media speculated the possibility of him announcing his resignation. Before that, Netanyahu called on him not to resign, but Gantz explained his intention to hold political consultations on Sunday regarding the date of his resignation from the government, before submitting it.

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