Ex-FM Ashkenazi pushes ’emergency’ unity gov’t without Ben Gvir and Smotrich

Former foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi, who served in a short-lived unity government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz in 2020-2021, calls for the formation of a similar coalition amid growing disquiet over the current hardline government.

‘The feeling is that the extremists have taken the country hostage. It might be time to launch Hannibal Protocol,” Ashkenazi tells the Yedioth Ahronoth daily, referring to a military order that grants troops broad permission to do whatever is necessary to prevent the abduction of a fellow soldier.

“If they were to form an emergency national government for one year without [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich and [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir, I’d support this. We have to reach a compromise otherwise we’ll all lose,” he says.

“Bibi understands this. I see signs that he is beginning to open his eye,” Ashkenazi says, pointing to the premier’s decision to temporarily halt the judicial overhaul, reversing the dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, asserting that the yet-to-be-formed national guard will not fall under the control of Ben Gvir and barring non-Muslims from visiting the Temple Mount during the final days of Ramadan.

Ashkenazi argues that the public appreciates the more “statesmanly” approach of compromise, highlighting Benny Gantz’s meteoric rise in the polls.

However, he acknowledges that one must remain skeptical of Netanyahu.

“After Netanyahu signed a deal with the UAE, I thought that [Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed] bin Salman was more important to him than Ben Gvir, but I was wrong,” Ashkenazi says. “But the conclusion from this is that Netanyahu cannot be left alone.”