Gantz attacks Netanyahu: 'Be brave for once'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Aug 2024 21:48

The Knesset member says Netanyahu hesitated to make critical decisions since October out of fear of the fate of his coaltion.

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An election campaign billboard for the opposition Blue and White party depicts its leader, Benny Gantz, left, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Ramat Gan, "Israel," on February 20, 2020 (AP)

Former war cabinet minister and Knesset member Benny Gantz slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday for his handling of the crises "Israel" is battling in Gaza and the north, demanding that he "be brave for once".

"At first, you hesitated on maneuvering [in southern Gaza], then you hesitated on moving the effort to the north, and for months you hesitated to move forward with a hostage outline out of fear for the fate of the coalition,” Gantz said during a visit to the northern Kibbutz of Ayelet Hashahar.

“It is time for you to stop tending to the fate of the government, and only tend to the fate of ["Israel"],” he continued. “For once, be brave.”

Responding to his remarks, the prime minister's Likud party said that “the protocols will prove that Gantz is the one who opposed decisions that were critical for the security of Israel, including decisions regarding dramatic military actions” while Gantz was then in the war cabinet.

Likud added that the recent assassinations of Resistance leaders are evidence of the “change of reality” after Gantz quit the war cabinet. "Those not contributing to the struggle for victory and the return of the hostages would do better if they at least didn’t do damage.”

Gantz's party, the National Unity fired back at Likud, saying that “Netanyahu knows well why he is trying to alter protocols and refusing to form a state commission of inquiry that will expose the truth: Who was afraid to launch a ground maneuver, who delayed the entry to Khan Younis, and who didn’t want at first to enter the Philadelphi Corridor.”

The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing senior US officials, that "Israel" has achieved the maximum it can militarily in Gaza, offering limited prospects of further weakening the Palestinian Resistance Hamas movement.

While the Israeli military has allegedly "severely set back Hamas," it is unlikely to completely eliminate the Palestinian group as declared in the war objectives.

It cited both current and former US and Israeli officials as suggesting that one of "Israel's" key objectives, which is the retrieval of around 115 captives still held in Gaza since October 7, cannot be achieved through military means.