Gantz Resignation a Netanyahu Mishap Amid Gaza War

Serial resignations

Less than 48 hours after Netanyahu said that the Israeli army managed to free 4 prisoners held by Hamas and celebrated this insignificant gain, his colleagues and cabinet members announced their resignations, recording the second surprise in a short time for the PM. Benny Gantz, the former defense minister and a minister who joined the coalition cabinet after the start of Gaza war, officially announced his exit from the government, citing the defeat in the war on Hamas. Gadi Eizenkot made a similar decision. 

Yedioth Ahronoth cited Gantz as saying: "I apologize to the families of all the abductees. We tried a lot but failed in this test. We did not succeed in returning many of the abductees. Part of this responsibility is mine."

But Gantz and Eizenkot resignation was not the only resignation in Netanyahu’s government in 24 hours, and Brigadier General Avy Rosenfield, the commander of Gaza operation, in a letter to the senior war commanders announced his resignation. 

"On October 7, I failed in my life's mission to support these areas (around Gaza), everyone should accept responsibility. I was in charge of this division and as part of taking responsibility for the failure as a commander, I decided to end my presence in this post in the Israeli Defense Forces after 30 years," he was cited by Israeli media outlets. 

Netanyahu cabinet now more far-right 

Analysts say that after Gantz's departure from the cabinet, although it will not cause Netanyahu's cabinet in the short term and in the coming days to fall, but without Gantz, Netanyahu will now be more dependent on his far-right partners. Polls have shown that Gantz can defeat Netanyahu in the elections. At this stage, it seems that Gantz is trying to bring Netanyahu down with his resignation and take the power out of Netanyahu's circle by holding elections. In this case, if Gantz with his resignation can persuade the discontented ministers to exit the coalition, Netanyahu's downfall will be more likely.

Actually, withdrawal of Gantz and Eizenkot from the cabinet has given the radical parties led by Itmar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich the opportunity to exercise more influence in the decisions of the war cabinet. These two hardliners figures were constantly complaining that most of the war decisions are taken without their contentment. Both staunch backers of continuation of war on Gaza, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are not part of the war cabinet. 

While Smotrich described the resignation of Gantz and Eizenkot an "irresponsible" decision, Ben-Gvir seized the opportunity to ask Netanyahu, through an X post, to allow him into the war cabinet. 

"I sent a request to the prime minister asking him to join the war council, the time has come for us to take bold decisions, achieve real deterrence and complete security on the borders with Gaza and on the borders of Lebanon and Israel," Ben-Gvir stated. 

However, Anna Barsky, an analyst at Maariv newspaper, cited figures close to Netanyahu as saying that Gantz and Eizenkot resignation will drive the cabinet to collapse. 

Growing discontentment 

Beyond these all, Gantz resignation showed that Netanyahu’s cabinet is plagued by crisis and division from within. It also should be taken into consideration that the resignation of Gantz is the latest sign of intensification of internal discontentment over Netanyahu's management of war, and this is the first political blow to the PM while the war is unfolding. 

Gantz joined Netanyahu's cabinet at the start of the Gaza war in October and was in the inner circle of decision-making body about the war, but he accuses Netanyahu of being powerless to accept a ceasefire agreement to end the war and guarantee the release of Israeli prisoners because his far-right partners are now in control of the cabinet, and they are the same people who are preventing a ceasefire and an end to the war in Gaza. Gantz is extremely unhappy with people like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich being part of the war decision-making circle. Gantz believes that the current cabinet has no plan and strategy for end of war and even post-war Gaza, and this state of confusion has caused Tel Aviv to move to further isolation on the international stage. Daniel Stein, an American political analyst, told NPR that resignation of Gantz reflects growing disappointment among a large part of the Israeli society about the circumstances caused by the war.