A public spat has laid bare the divisions in Israel’s war cabinet.
On Wednesday at a news conference in Tel Aviv, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant stated publicly that Israel should not be involved in military rule in Gaza once the war is over. He also called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly reject that scenario as well.
Not too long after that, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Palestinian Authority won’t rule Gaza and added that as long as Hamas remains, no other party will govern in Gaza.
Also responding, a third member of the war cabinet in Israel, Benny Gantz, backed Gallant and said that Gallant speaks the truth and that it is the leadership’s responsibility to do the right thing for the country at all costs.
This is all really showing deepening divisions among members of the war cabinet at a very critical time. At a time when more critics of Netanyahu are stating that he has not expressed any clear plan for how Gaza should be governed once the war is over, in a so-called “day after” scenario.
Reports that Israeli military ‘worried’ political leadership not heeding US advice on Gaza
Reporting from Amman, Jordan, because Israel has banned Al Jazeera
We know that the Americans have been frustrated and have also suggested that Netanyahu try to formulate a plan for how Gaza should be governed once the war is over.
We’ve seen more and more unnamed members of the Israeli military establishment – but members of the military establishment nonetheless – being quoted throughout the Israeli media landscape and Israeli media outlets expressing frustration about the fact they don’t think enough is being done to come up with a plan for a post-war scenario in Gaza.
Members of the military establishment are being quoted in Israeli outlets saying that they are very worried because political leadership in Israel is not heeding the advice of the US and what the US is urging Israel to do.
And that could constitute a bigger fracture in the relationship between the US and Israel going forward.
Israeli soldier casualties causing more Israelis to question war operations
The death of Israeli soldiers is putting a lot of pressure on the Israeli government. The more the Israeli public hears about these deaths in Gaza, the more people are questioning the efficacy of how operations are being put forth.
In poll after poll, you’re seeing a majority of Israeli citizens saying they do back the war effort, but more and more are questioning how the war is being prosecuted.
This is because they are seeing the death of Israeli soldiers, and they are seeing the Israeli military go back into areas they previously said they had cleared of Hamas fighters.
Public rift in Israel war cabinet signals ‘turning point’
Akiva Eldar, a political analyst and contributor to Israeli news outlet Haaretz, told Al Jazeera he believes the recent public disagreements between Israel’s leadership signal a “turning point”.
Eldar said that Israeli Defense Minister Gallant’s public criticism of PM Netanyahu exposes a rift that “comes from the heart of the Likud [political party]”.
On Wednesday, Gallant said he was opposed to the Israeli military taking control or responsibility for the governance of Gaza. Gantz, another war cabinet member, came out in support of Gallant following the comments.
