Xinhua News Agency, Jerusalem, May 22nd Question: Why do Israeli high-level officials "infighting"
Xinhua News Agency reporter Lv Yingxu Wang Zhuolun
Israeli Defense Minister galante, wartime cabinet member Ganz and other senior officials have recently publicly raised objections to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision, and Ganz even threatened to quit the wartime cabinet. Analysts believe that these actions have made the internal differences that have existed for a long time in Israel’s high-level open, which is behind the changes in domestic public opinion caused by Israel’s predicament in the Gaza conflict. If Ganz, who represents the center-left wing, withdraws from the wartime cabinet, the Israeli government’s policy on the Palestinian issue will be more "right".
Openness of internal differences
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister galante and the leader of the main opposition National Unity Party, Ganz, were the three core members with voting rights in the Israeli wartime cabinet established after the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out last October. At the press conference on 18th of this month, Ganz released a six-point plan on the conflict in Gaza and its follow-up matters, including rescuing all detainees in Gaza, ending the control of Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Gaza and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip. After the conflict, the United States, European countries, Arab countries and Palestinians will jointly administer the Gaza Strip and normalize relations with Arab countries.
Ganz asked Netanyahu to accept this plan at the latest on June 8, or he would quit the wartime cabinet. "If you choose the fanatical road and lead the country to the abyss, we will be forced to quit the government and rely on the people to form a new government that can achieve real victory."
According to a report quoted by the media, the wartime cabinet of Israel considered a proposal to restart personnel exchange talks with Hamas on the evening of 18th, including the extension of the cease-fire period in the second stage, which was supported by galante and Ganz, but Netanyahu still stressed that he was "unwilling to accept any proposal that would lead to the end of the war".
Earlier, galante made a video speech on 15th, saying that he had been proposing in the cabinet that a non-hostile Palestinian government should be established to replace Hamas since the current Gaza conflict broke out, but he didn’t get any response. Galante said that in the absence of alternatives, Hamas can only be allowed to rule Gaza again or Israeli military rule over Gaza, but he opposed the latter and urged Netanyahu to give up this option. Ganz voiced his support for galante at that time, saying that he was telling the truth.
Israeli public opinion has pointed out that there have been long-standing differences between Israel and high-level officials in handling the war in Gaza, and the statements made by galante and Ganz have made internal contradictions public. This is the "most serious political challenge" for Netanyahu since the outbreak of the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Public opinion has changed
Some analysts believe that galante and Ganz openly challenged Netanyahu this time, which reflects the current battlefield dilemma facing Israel and the changes in public opinion brought by it.
Israel has set three major goals for Gaza’s military operations, namely, rescuing detained Israeli personnel, eliminating Hamas and ensuring that the Gaza Strip no longer poses a threat to Israel, but these goals have not been achieved so far and seem to be in the foreseeable future.
Israel regards Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, as the last base of Hamas. It wanted to launch a large-scale attack, but it was strongly opposed by the international community, including its main supporter, the United States. At present, it can only adopt the way of "cutting the cake" to expand the scope of attack one by one. In the northern part of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army recently had to resume air strikes and re-send ground troops to cope with Hamas’s "redeployment of armed forces" here.
Since the conflict broke out more than seven months ago, Israeli and Hamas have held several rounds of negotiations. There has been no new progress since a short ceasefire was reached in November last year in exchange for the release of some detainees, and there is no hope for the return of the remaining 100 detainees.
In addition, in the border area between Israel and Lebanon, Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah armed forces supporting Hamas have continued to exchange fire to this day. According to Israeli statistics, the conflict has caused 80,000 Israeli residents on the northern border to flee their homes.
Under this circumstance, anti-war and anti-government demonstrations in Israel have become more frequent and larger. Harel Horev, a researcher at the moshe dayan Center for Middle East and Africa Studies at Tel Aviv University in Israel, said that the openness of high-level differences in Israel reflects the changes in domestic public opinion, and more and more Israelis think it is necessary to draw up a plan for Gaza’s post-war arrangements.
Johnathan Freeman, an expert on international relations at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, believes that Ganz’s public opposition to Netanyahu’s government may be aimed at a new round of general elections, and he intends to gain voters’ support by putting forward clear political ideas. The latest polls show that if the general election is held now, the support rate of Ganz is 35% and that of Netanyahu is 32%.
The government may be more "right"
Regarding Ganz’s proposal, Netanyahu said in a statement on the evening of 18th that these demands were "outdated remarks", which meant that "Israel failed, most of the hostages were abandoned, Hamas continued to exist and a Palestinian state was established".
In addition, Israeli far-right representative and national security minister Ben-Gervais called on Netanyahu to remove Ganz and galante from their posts on the 19th. Another far-right figure, Finance Minister Smout Leahy, called for a long-term "military presence" in the Gaza and launched an attack on Lebanon on the 19th.
The current Israeli government, composed of right-wing and far-right forces, is known as the "rightmost government in history" and has a tough attitude on the Palestinian issue. Among them, the ultra-right forces are especially so. They advocate continuing military operations in Gaza until Hamas is completely destroyed, and demand that aid materials be prohibited from entering Gaza. Analysts pointed out that the Likud group led by Netanyahu needs the support of the far-right party to maintain its ruling position, so the far-right can kidnap the government on relevant policies.
Horev said that Ganz’s withdrawal from the wartime cabinet could not force Netanyahu to dissolve the parliament and hold a new general election. If Netanyahu finally refuses to accept Ganz’s proposal and Ganz withdraws from the wartime cabinet, the influence of the centrist in government decision-making will be weakened and the government’s policy will be more "right".
However, some analysts believe that Ganz’s statement may be just a "show." Freeman said that Ganz felt that there was an increase in public criticism of his continuing to stay in the wartime cabinet. This statement was intended to show the public that his staying in the wartime cabinet could influence decision-making. Israel’s Ha ‘aretz published an article on the 18th, pointing out that Netanyahu needs Ganz from the center-left to stay in the wartime cabinet to hedge the pressure brought by the extreme right forces, and Ganz himself may not really quit the wartime cabinet.