Israel's war cabinet member Benny Gantz threatened to resign from Benjamin Netanyahu's government if the prime minister does not present a post-war plan for Gaza by June 8.
At a news conference on Saturday, Gantz called on the cabinet to agree on a six-point plan setting out a vision for the governance of the besieged strip once the conflict ends.
The Israeli politician, a former defense minister, said that if his demands were not met, he would withdraw his centrist party from the emergency unity government formed last year to oversee the war in Gaza.
Gantz is seen as Netanyahu's main political rival in Israel. He was a leading opposition figure before joining the war cabinet.
His ultimatum deepened rifts within the Israeli government and added to growing pressure against Netanyahu amid growing domestic and international criticism of his policies in Gaza.
Gantz's plan calls for the release of Israeli captives in Gaza, the demilitarization of the territory and the formation of an international coalition with “American, European, Arab and Palestinian elements” to oversee its civilian affairs.
Echoing Netanyahu's position, Gantz said that neither Hamas nor Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas can govern Gaza after the war.
Demilitarizing Gaza would require completely dismantling Hamas's military wing, something the Israeli army has failed to accomplish after 225 days of fighting. The position also coincides with Netanyahu's frequent calls for a “total victory.”
Still, Gantz delivered a thinly veiled swipe at the prime minister and his far-right allies. “If you choose the path of fanatics and lead the entire nation into the abyss, we will be forced to resign from the government,” he said.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza has killed more than 35,000 people and destroyed much of the besieged enclave. More than 100 Israeli captives remain in the territory.
Talks to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas appear to have stalled, with Netanyahu's government rejecting the Palestinian demand to end the war in Gaza.
In a previous agreement – brokered by the United States and Qatar – some 134 captives were freed in November; Israel also freed dozens of Palestinian prisoners, including children.
Gantz's request is one of the strongest manifestations of the growing tension within the war cabinet. In another rare public spat, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also said Thursday that Israel should not participate in governing Gaza once the fighting ends.
“What we are seeing more and more in recent days is that there is enormous disagreement among members of the war cabinet about the plan to follow for Gaza,” said Al Jazeera correspondent Mohamed Jamjoom.
“And this also echoes the concerns of the US government, which has repeatedly said that Netanyahu needs to try to come up with a plan for a post-war scenario in Gaza,” he added.
Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken chastised Israel for its lack of a plan in some of his strongest public criticism.
“First, you have to have a clear and credible plan to protect civilians, something we have not seen. Secondly, we also need to see a plan for what will happen after this conflict in Gaza ends, and we haven't seen that yet,” he said.
In addition to opposition within his own government, Netanyahu is also facing growing demonstrations in cities across Israel.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv to demand the prime minister's resignation, citing his failure to bring back captives and his handling of the war.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid also attended Saturday's protests and vowed to work toward the fall of Netanyahu's government and the return of Israeli captives. In a social media post, Lapid, a former prime minister, later called the current cabinet “the worst government in the history of the country.”
Relatives of the captives gathered outside the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv and called on Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, former army chief of staff and current member of Netanyahu's war cabinet, to replace the prime minister.
“How much more blood will be shed because you don't have the courage to do the right thing? It is their duty to expose the truth, it is their moral obligation to quickly remove Netanyahu from power, because he is abandoning the hostages to death,” the Hareetz newspaper reported, citing the families at the press conference.
“The only way to rescue all the hostages is to stop this war, as part of a comprehensive agreement signed for the release of hostages,” the group added.
