Gantz threatens to quit gov’t over haredi exemption
Gallant says also won’t back PM proposal on IDF service deferral
War minister and National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz announced on Sunday that he would quit the government if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bill extending the exemption from IDF conscription for ultra-Orthodox (haredi) Jews despite the current war passes in the Knesset.
“The people will not tolerate it, the Knesset will not be able to vote in favor of it, and my associates and I cannot be part of this emergency government if this law passes,” he said in his announcement.
“Passing such a law would be crossing a red line during normal times, and during the war, it’s like flying a black flag over it,” he added. “We will not be able to look in the eyes of fighters within our borders and beyond them, and ask them to extend their service.”
The High Court of Justice previously imposed a deadline of this coming Wednesday for the government to explain in writing how it will present a new bill which will not violate principles of equality like the last law which the judiciary struck down as unequal in favor of haredim.
A new ruling from the High Court could come as early as Wednesday or at an oral hearing scheduled for Thursday.
The fight between Gantz and Netanyahu over the haredi IDF-national service integration issue does not occur in a vacuum.
For months, polls have shown Gantz leading Netanyahu by double the number of Knesset seats if a theoretical election were to take place.
However, at the same time, until now polls have shown that many Gantz supporters want him to remain in Netanyahu’s government until
Also, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant headed to Washington Sunday for an official visit. Gallant was invited to meet senior US officials including the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and CIA head William Burns.
“The focus of the trip is maintaining Israel’s qualitative edge,” said Gallant who added that the trip will also focus on acquiring munitions. “Not less important is the relationship with the US and the shared need to obtain our objectives in Gaza,” added Gallant, listing the return of the hostages and defeating Hamas as shared goals.
“We will also deal with how we will return citizens of the north to their homes, through military action or an agreement,” Gallant added.
German Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock also commented on the situation in Gaza, saying that “in the hell of Gaza, more than one million children, women, and men are at the risk of starvation,” in a post on X Sunday.
“This cannot go on for another day. We leave no stone unturned with our partners. The Israeli government must finally open the border crossings to a lot more aid,” she added.
Baerbock added that Germany stands by their “responsibility for Israel’s security: Hamas must lay down its arms and must never bring terror to Israel again. But the goal cannot be achieved purely militarily. And military action has its limits in international humanitarian law.”
She also called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded to Baerbock saying that Israel expects “our friends to continue supporting Israel during these challenging times and not weaken it against the terrorist organization Hamas.
“A humanitarian ceasefire cannot be upheld without including the release of Israeli hostages. We must continue to work together to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Katz said in a post on X, responding to Baerbock.
Reuters, Hannah Sarisohn in New York, and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this