Members of Knesset from the National Unity party led by Minister-without-portfolio MK Benny Gantz avoided radio and television interviews on Sunday, as they entered the final week prior to Gantz's June 8 ultimatum deadline.
Gantz said in a press conference on May 18 that his party would leave the government if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not appoint a plan that included a comprehensive deal for the "day after" Hamas in Gaza, including an "American-European-Arab-Palestinian" governing alternative to Hamas, a return of all hostages, return of evacuees from the North to their homes, adopting an "outline" that would lead to an increase in haredi enlistment in the IDF, and more.
While Netanyahu publicly rejected the demands, the new Israeli proposal on a hostage deal with Hamas, which the entire war cabinet reportedly supported, and the details of which US President Joe Biden revealed in a speech on Friday, was not far from Gantz's demands, and therefore it is unclear whether he intends to quit the government at week's end.
In the meanwhile, members of Gantz's party have begun to take steps in opposition to the government. MK Orit Farkash Hacohen last week put forward a bill to form a National Committee of Inquiry on the events leading up to, during, and after October 7. In addition, MK Pnina Tamano-Shata put forward a bill to disperse the Knesset, which would lead to an election.
A spokesperson for National Unity did not answer a query over whether the party's members had been instructed not to participate in media interviews.
Gantz broke the party's silence on Sunday to address a hearing in the High Court of Justice on the haredi draft issue.
"The truth must be told, the presented outline – will not lead to recruitment, certainly not in the numbers that the defense system and the State of Israel need, and it will not promote, even slightly, the national equality which demands that everyone serves," Gantz said in a video statement.
Haredi draft is a long time coming
He began his statement by saying that this conversation should not even need to be held, and that the government should have come up with a bill a year ago, before the war started.
"Before October 7, there were those who thought that the IDF could become a professional army, but it has again been proven that the people's army is a necessity, and a comprehensive Israeli service outline with a decade-long vision for the Haredim, Arabs, and all parts of society is the way to ensure our security and resilience," he said.
He concluded saying that it is not too late "to come to our senses and advance it."
Last week, three leaders of opposition parties – Yesh Atid chairman MK Yair Lapid, Yisrael Beytenu chairman MK Avigdor Liberman, and United Right chairman MK Gideon Sa'ar, met in order to coordinate their attempts to topple the government. They called on Gantz to leave the government and join them.
Gantz's party joined the government on October 11 due to the emergency situation resulting from the October 7 massacre. He has said repeatedly since then that his party would leave the government as soon as it felt that it no longer was able to influence the government enough so that it made what it viewed as correct decisions regarding the war.