From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
Gantz vows ‘real service plan for both Haredim and Arabs’ if he forms a government
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 chairman Benny Gantz promises to implement “a broad and comprehensive solution” to the issue of enlistment if he establishes a government, stating that he will bring “a real service plan for both the ultra-Orthodox and the Arabs.”
Addressing the annual Herzliya conference at Reichman University, the former war cabinet minister says he’s “disturbed” the High Court of Justice was forced to get involved in enlistment due to “political considerations” that prevented the government from dealing with the issue.
“Unfortunately, in the dialogue we had with the ultra-Orthodox leaders, we have not yet been able to reach a correct and real outline,” he says, declaring that he will not support any “sham” laws — a reference to the enlistment bill currently being deliberated in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee.
Addressing the conflict in Gaza, Gantz states that while it is “impossible to destroy an idea, it is absolutely possible and necessary to destroy the ability to actualize it,” which he says requires a generation-long effort to confront Hamas’ presence in the “local arena.”
The first priority, however, is the return of the hostages “after nine months of hell,” he says. “After we finish dismantling the main military infrastructure of Hamas, the time has come to return our hostages even at a very heavy price.”
Turning to the north, Gantz states that displaced Israelis must be able to return home, “even at the cost of escalation” but warned Israel will also have to pay a “heavy” price.
