Gantz and Israel's War Cabinet raise pressure on Netanyahu
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under mounting 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 sign 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 it did not formulate a new war plan including an international, Arab and Palestinian administration to handle civilian affairs in Gaza.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the third member of the Cabinet, has also called for a plan for Palestinian administration, and said in a speech this week that he wouldn’t agree to Israel governing Gaza itself.
The United States has meanwhile called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza with assistance from Saudi Arabia and other Arab states ahead of eventual statehood. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is expected to push those plans when he visits Israel on Sunday.