On Sunday evening, Minister Benny Gantz announced his retirement from the government together with his party, the Mamlachti Camp. In accordance with this, Gantz resigned his position as Minister and his place in the War Cabinet, together with Gadi Eisenkot and minister Hili Trooper. This brings the saga of the national unity and emergency government, which was established during the week following October 7, to a complete end – when it is important to remember that Gantz represented in practice only 7 Knesset seats, but according to the polls represented a very significant portion of the Israeli population. Gantz justified his retirement on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s priorities in the conduct of the war, and in the gradual reduction that occurred to the extent of his influence in the decision-making process.
Gantz’s retirement does not cause the collapse of the government, as we remain with the 64 mandate government that was in office in the year before the war – but constitutes a significant political upheaval and places significant pressure on the prime minister from two directions: At home, Netanyahu is now under more significant pressure from the more hawkish parties in the government (including Religious Zionism and Jewish Power), which already demand a more significant place in decision-making; and outside, Gantz has until now been a kind of defence to the world for Israel’s conduct – which can now be accused of extremism or more serious accusations and de-legitimizing efforts.
It is not clear whether Gantz’s retirement will have implications for the chances of advancing a hostage deal, increasing the protest against the government in the streets of Israel, and even for an early election. One issue in which this will probably end up easier for the government, is the issue of the draft law – since Minister Galant is not obligated to pass a draft law to Gantz’s spirit anymore (when Galant was not obligated to do so from the outset).
