Benjamin Netanyahu has been left facing Cabinet chaos as a key minister threatens to resign over Israel’s invasion of Rafah.
Benny Gantz, a veteran centrist leader and member of the three-person war cabinet, issued a warning to the Israeli Prime Minister over his plan to destroy Hamas.
In an ultimatum handed to Netanyahu, Gantz said the war in Gaza must end by June 8 and a template for the future territory must be established thereafter.
Gantz warned he and his National Unity party would collapse Netanyahu’s Government if he fails to agree to the proposals.
He said: “If you choose the path of fanatics and lead the entire nation to the abyss, we will be forced to quit the government.”
Such a situation would not automatically collapse Netanyahu’s administration but would heap greater pressure on the three-time Israeli Prime Minister.
Netanyahu returned to office in 2022 after Likud won 32 seats in Israel’s general election.
The right-wing party is being propped up by 14 members of the hard-right Religious Zionist, 11 populist MPs from Shas and 7 MPs from the religious conservative United Torah Judaism group.
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However, Netanyahu immediately fired back against Gantz.
The 74-year-old warned Gantz’s ultimatum was “washed up words” which would only embolden Hamas.
He added: “While our heroic fighters are fighting to destroy the Hamas battalions in Rafah, Gantz chooses to issue an ultimatum to the Prime Minister instead of issuing an ultimatum to Hamas.”
Netanyahu also asked whether “Gantz prefers the national interest and is not looking for an excuse to overthrow the government.”
Israel’s Prime Minister is becoming increasingly unpopular as the war with Hamas continues months after the terror group killed 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 200 others.
Polls for the next Israeli election, scheduled for 2026, put National Uity at 29 per cent.
Likud’s support collapsed to 19 per cent, having dropped drastically immediately after last October.
Netanyahu is also facing pressure from allies across the West over the IDF’s handling of events in Gaza.
Officials in the Strip’s Hamas-run Health Ministry claim over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in thec onflict so far.
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees also warned 800,000 people were “forced to flee” impacted areas of Gaza.
Joe Biden is turning the screw against Netanyahu in an attempt for the IDF to de-escalate.
Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, is in Israel and Saudi Arabia this weekend to negotiate a potential agreement to end the war.
He also hopes to prevent a full Israeli invasion of the Gazan border town of Rafah.
The Biden administration this month threatened to withhold additional shipments of some offensive weapons to Israel if the country proceeded with a ground invasion of Rafah.
Discussions to enact a ceasefire, which are brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt, have not made progress.
It remains unclear when the conflict between Israel and Hamas will come to a close.
