From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Gantz says survival of government is more important to Netanyahu than bringing hostages home
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"
For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “the survival of his government is more important… than the return of the abducted here and now,” National Unity chairman Benny Gantz declares at a conference organized by the Calcalist financial daily.
“Of the three goals of the war that concern the Gaza Strip, two have not yet been achieved – the collapse of Hamas’s rule and the return of our hostages,” Gantz notes, arguing that “it is more important for the prime minister to survive politically than to allow another civilian government in the Gaza Strip, and therefore the IDF will continue to wallow there for a long time.”
Turning to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir whom he calls the “minister of chaos” — both of whom have been outspoken in their opposition to an agreement with Hamas — Gantz says that “the truth is that both of you will not resign from the government even if there is a full and painful deal.”
