From the Liveblog of
Monday, May 20, 2024
‘This war is a colossal failure’: Likud MKs attack Gallant for challenging government’s postwar vision for Gaza
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"
Likud lawmakers hurl insults at Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during their party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset on Monday, after he challenged the government’s postwar thinking for the Gaza Strip in a televised address on Wednesday evening.
During the heated meeting, Gallant tries to explain his criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his declared opposition to Israeli civil or military rule in a post-Hamas Gaza — prompting harsh pushback from his fellow Likud MKs.
According to the Ynet news site, Likud MKs Tally Gotliv and Moshe Saada shout at Gallant while MK Amit Halevi accuses him of mismanaging the Gaza conflict.
“This war is a colossal failure. You were trusted with security,” Ynet quotes Halevi as saying.
Defending himself, Gallant asserts that Israel “doesn’t have enough soldiers” for an extended occupation of Gaza, which would require lengthening mandatory terms of service for IDF soldiers, asserting that while he is “against a Palestinian state,” he believes that “neither Hamas nor Israel” should rule in Gaza.
“Likud is my home, I’m staying,” he insists, adding that “we are the successors of Begin, not of Ben Gvir.”
A source who was in the room confirmed to The Times of Israel that the Ynet report was accurate, adding that “it is clear that Gallant is a minority opinion here and that Saada has support of most Likud members.”
