On the evening of the 18th local time, Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's wartime cabinet, delivered a televised speech, demanding that the current government led by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu complete the formulation of the post-war governance plan for Gaza by June 8, otherwise he will lead his party to withdraw from the Israeli emergency coalition government. However, Netanyahu immediately rejected his request.
"The conditions put forward by Gantz are all nonsense, and the implication is clear: end the war, defeat Israel, give up most of the hostages, leave Hamas intact, and establish a Palestinian state," Netanyahu said in a statement. ”
Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's wartime cabinet (data map)
Gantz said he asked Netanyahu to lead the Israeli government to reach a consensus on military action in Gaza, and to clarify solutions to future post-war governance in Gaza, the release of Israeli detainees, the de-escalation of the situation in northern Israel, and the normalization of relations with Arab countries.
In his speech, Gantz accused the Israeli leadership of serious problems with the way the conflict is being handled. He said that now "a small group of people have occupied the bridge of the Israeli ship and is heading it to the reef" and that "no key decisions have been made [on Gaza], and the leadership required to ensure Israel's victory has not been fully implemented." ”
He added that "while maintaining Israeli security control, there should be a co-governance of the United States, Europe, Arab and Palestine that will manage the civil affairs of the Gaza Strip and lay the groundwork for a future alternative, rather than [handing Gaza over] Hamas or Mahmoud Abbas, the chairman of the Palestinian self-government." ”
Gantz said he would lead his National Unity Party out of Israel's current emergency coalition government if his demands were not met.
Three members of Israel's wartime cabinet: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (from left), Defense Minister Yoaf Galant and opposition leader Benny Gantz
After the outbreak of a new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict on October 7 last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leader of the opposition National Unity Party Gantz issued a joint statement announcing the formation of an emergency government to deal with wartime affairs. Gantz served as a member of Israel's wartime cabinet.
According to national polls, Gantz is Netanyahu's biggest rival in politics. His latest statement highlights the strong opposition to Netanyahu at the top of the Israeli leadership during the Israeli-Kazakhstan war. The seven-month war has sparked political rifts at home and abroad.
For now, Netanyahu appears to be surrounded by his own wartime cabinet, in which only himself, Gantz and Defense Minister Yoav Galant have the right to vote. On the 15th of this month, Gallant also publicly questioned Netanyahu's post-war plan, and also vowed to oppose Israel's idea of long-term military rule of Gaza.
However, if Netanyahu moves closer to Gallant and Gantz, it could anger the ultra-nationalist coalition demanding the annexation of Gaza. Without their support, Netanyahu's premiership could be out of place.
In recent weeks, it is no secret that Gantz and Defense Minister Gallant and Netanyahu have been at odds over the latter's management of the war and the proximity of US President Joe Biden's administration.
The Biden administration has previously publicly stated that Israel's military operation in Gaza requires a political plan to defeat Hamas. US Presidential National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will arrive in Israel on the 19th. Sullivan has been pushing for a deal to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, but that would be premised on a path to Palestinian statehood, a condition that Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected.
Straight News noted that as early as March this year, Benny Gantz was allowed to meet with the top officials of the US government in Washington, including the vice president, the secretary of state and the head of the Pentagon. The Biden administration is believed to have hosted a figure seen as Netanyahu's main domestic rival as a way to express its displeasure with Netanyahu.
Israeli forces intensively bombed Gaza refugee camps
On the 18th local time, the Israeli army continued to carry out military operations in the Jabaliya area in the northern Gaza Strip, and carried out intensive bombardment of the Jabaliya refugee camp. The death toll has risen to at least 28. In addition, Israel attacked a refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip of Palestine, killing at least 17 people and injuring dozens more.
According to Palestinian media reports, the Israeli army has been conducting military operations in the Jabaliya refugee camp for several days, and a large number of dead bodies have been scattered on the streets and left uncollected.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Saturday morning that Israeli forces continued military operations in Jabaliyah and the central Gaza Strip and eastern Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, hitting more than 70 Palestinian militant group targets in the past day.
UN: 800,000 people forced to flee Rafah
The director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Razzarini said on May 18 that nearly half of Rafah's population, or 800,000 people, had been forced to flee since the Israeli army began its military operation in the Rafah area on the 6th of this month.
He said that after the evacuation order was issued, Gazans fled to the central region and Khan Younis. He said many people had to live in buildings destroyed by artillery fire. "Each time, they were forced to leave behind what little possessions they had left; Each time, they have to start all over again. "
The U.S. built a temporary terminal in Gaza, but the seaborne supplies are a drop in the bucket
According to a number of Palestinian media reports, on May 17, local time, the United States spent two months and reportedly spent $300 million to build a temporary wharf on the central coast of the Gaza Strip began to open to deliver humanitarian aid from the sea to the Gaza Strip. According to U.S. estimates, the terminal is expected to initially carry 90 tons of supplies per day, then 150 tons per day, and 500 tons of aid in a few days.
Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo bluntly said that the United States spent a lot of money to build the pier just to show off public opinion from the inaction of the United States.
The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) issued a statement on the 17th, saying that the temporary pier cannot replace the land border crossing, and the Palestinian people are entitled to all forms of assistance.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also said on the 18th that the delivery of aid to Gaza through temporary terminals is not enough to meet the huge needs of civilians. Trucks carrying urgently needed aid have begun to arrive in Gaza from makeshift docks built by the United States military, but sea lanes cannot replace the critical land routes, which are the fastest and most effective way to deliver humanitarian assistance to the more than two million Palestinians besieged in the area.
Source: General
Editor: Nie Qianyu, Shenzhen Satellite TV News Editor