Gantz: Netanyahu has lost his way, but he’s not a murderer
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
National Unity chief Benny Gantz slams Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for conflating his personal interests with those of the wider country, calling such an approach “dangerous.”
Speaking at the Israel Bar Association’s annual conference following the deaths of six hostages at the hands of Hamas, Gantz also speaks out against rhetoric in recent days portraying Netanyahu as a “murderer.”
“Netanyahu is not a murderer, and I condemn the incitement against him,” he says. “[Hamas head Yahya] Sinwar is a murderer, Hamas and Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guard are our enemies. But Netanyahu has lost his way and sees himself as the state. And this is dangerous,” he declares.
Netanyahu, he says, is “the godfather of the concept of surviving in power at any cost.”
Gantz also condemns Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who has refused to appoint a new Supreme Court president ever since former president Esther Hayut retired in October last year.
“Even during these hard days, the justice minister continues to harm the judicial system and the citizens of Israel, refusing to convene the to convene the Judicial Selection Committee and do the basic thing, elect a Supreme Court president after over a year,” he says.
Last week, the High Court of Justice on Tuesday told Levin to bring the appointment of a new Supreme Court president and two new Supreme Court justices to a vote in the Judicial Selection Committee, and to begin preparations for such a vote “in the coming days.”
Gantz calls for a legislative Basic Law to “regulate the rules of the game” and determine a definition for quasi-constitutional Basic Laws, the procedure for their passage and how laws may be invalidated by judges.
