Benny Gantz, a key member of Israel's war cabinet, has threatened to resign unless Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu develops a plan for the end of the war in Gaza in the next three weeks, RadarOnline.com has learned.
"If you choose the path of zealots, dragging the country into the abyss, we will be forced to leave the government," Gantz, the leader of the centrist National Unity party and Netanyahu's main political rival, said in a televised news conference on Saturday, per The New York Times.
"We will turn to the people and build a government that will earn the people's trust," he added.
In his ultimatum, Gantz gave Netanyahu until June 8 to come up with a plan to secure the release of the hostages by Hamas, return displaced Israelis to their homes, and create an "American-European-Arab-Palestinian" civil administration to govern the territory.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the third member of the war cabinet, also called for a plan for Palestinian administration and said in a speech this week that he wouldn't agree to the establishment of an Israeli military government in Gaza.
As the violence continues to rage on with no end in sight, Netanyahu's far-right government has faced increased pressure, both externally and from within his own cabinet, to formulate an exit strategy.
The United States has called for a reformed Palestinian Authority with Western backing to replace Hamas and govern Gaza, a plan that Netanyahu has ruled out as a possibility.
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In a statement issued after the ultimatum, the Associated Press reports, Netanyahu said Gantz's conditions would amount to "defeat for Israel, abandoning most of the hostages, leaving Hamas intact, and establishing a Palestinian state."
Netanyahu added that he still thought the emergency government was important for prosecuting the war and he "expects Gantz to clarify his positions to the public."
The departure of Gantz, who joined the emergency wartime government after the attack on October 7, would leave Netanyahu even more beholden to his far-right coalition allies.