The chairman of the National Unity camp, Minister Benny Gantz, called a press conference this evening (Sunday) in which he announced his decision to leave the unity government that was formed due to the state of emergency at the beginning of the war. “After October 7, as hundreds of thousands of patriotic Israelis did, my friends and I also mobilized. We did this even though we knew it was a bad government. We did this because we knew it was a bad government,” Gantz began.
Gantz reasoned: “We established an emergency government out of a partnership of fate, not out of a political partnership. Months after the October disaster, the situation in the country and in the decision-making room changed. Netanyahu and his partners turned unity into an excited call – without a cover in reality. Fatal strategic decisions are met with hesitancy and postponement due to political considerations.”
“Honestly, entering the government was a simple decision. Leaving, when we have hostages in the Hamas tunnels, when the residents of the north are far from their homes, and thousands of fighters are on the front – this is a complex and agonizing decision. Both decisions have one common denominator: the good of the State of Israel. We tried to influence the direction of the ship in the closed rooms. The truth is “The reality is that the campaign will take years. I will not guarantee you an easy and quick victory. You deserve more than empty promises.”
At the end of Gantz’s speech, Prime Minister Netanyahu wrote on his X network: “My son, this is not the time to abandon the campaign – this is the time to unite forces.” Netanyahu clarified: “My door will remain open to any Zionist party that is ready to take responsibility and help bring victory over our enemies and ensuring the security of our citizens.”
