For those who see the government as unreliable, National Unity Party chairman Benny Gantz and MK Gadi Eisenkot’s joining the emergency war government five days after the October 7 massacre and then leaving it on Sunday night didn’t shift a chink in the armor. Due to its decisions, the government and our predicaments remain the same.
Gantz’s announcement on Sunday night was disheartening for those who hoped that reasonable, experienced voices like his and Eisenkot’s would influence the direction this war is taking. These two people, who cast aside their political and ideological differences to try to imbue some of their influence where it was sorely needed, found themselves unable to make the desired impact. This raises questions about the potential for moderation in managing the war.
Gantz called for a date to be set for elections. While his move will not collapse the government, it will leave Netanyahu more dependent on his far-right partners, figures who have expressed fewer reservations about paying higher military prices for “victory” and are less enthusiastic about a diplomatic solution.
Gantz takes responsibility for failings
One of these partners, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, promptly expressed his intention to join the small war cabinet previously occupied by Gantz and Eisenkot. This move has been met with mixed reactions, as some see it as potentially problematic for military and diplomatic reasons.
The latest issue to split far-right partners the Religious Zionist Party and Otzma Yehudit from the rest of the coalition is a three-phase hostage deal that Netanyahu himself has given a nod to and which Gantz supports. Otzma and RZP comprise 14 of the 64 seats that now make up the coalition after National Unity bolted.
Sunday night showed that Netanyahu has successfully isolated one of the few reasonable voices on the outside that would sit at the table. In an apology to the families of the hostages, Gantz said, “We did a lot, but we failed the test. We have not managed to bring many of the hostages home. The responsibility is mine as well.”
The deal brings forth two classes of approaches the Israeli public and leaders have had towards the issue of the hostages since the beginning: collective vs individual, and short-term vs long-term. The truth is that there is no debate on this, because the government failed every single hostage taken on October 7 and has failed them and their families every day since by not bringing forth a deal. That is the responsibility they carry, and it seems Gantz understood that.
Eisenkot did as well, as he noted in the letter he wrote regarding his resignation: “Despite my many efforts, alongside my colleagues’, the cabinet led by you has, for a while, avoided making accurate decisions that are needed to achieve the goals of the war and improve Israel’s strategic stance,” he said.
Channel 12 political commentator Amnon Abramovich noted that Gantz’s first mistake was entering the emergency government with no stipulations, unlike Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid who insisted on several that weren’t fulfilled, so his joining never materialized. Lapid conditioned his joining on Netanyahu “stopping with the politics” and pushing RZP chairman Bezalel Smotrich and Ben-Gvir aside. “The way this ended is not surprising,” Abramovich said.
Gantz himself answered the question of whether they could have made a difference: they couldn’t. “Netanyahu is preventing us from moving forward to a real victory. Fateful, strategic decisions are met with hesitance and procrastination due to political considerations,” he had said.
Netanyahu responded: “Don’t leave the emergency government; don’t give up on unity.” But which unity is he talking about here? What are the best interests, short-term and long-term: of the Israeli public or Netanyahu’s coalition and political survival? Gantz’s move seems to indicate the latter.
The hope lies in the remaining moderate voices. In his parting speech, Gantz pleaded with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, calling him a brave and determined leader and telling him that now is the time to say what is right and “do what is right.”
Gantz was crystal clear; Netanyahu just needs to choose to listen.