Israel's Benny Gantz, who until June 13 served in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's cabinet as a minister without portfolio, is an Israeli politician and retired general with a more-than-impressive resume. 

Along with his long and courageous military career, fighting for Israel since the early seventies, he has held high offices as Minister of Defense, Minister of Justice, Deputy Prime Minister, Speaker of the Knesset, and founder of what is now known as the National Unity Party. With the war's beginning on Oct. 7, he became Minister without portfolio in the Israeli cabinet.

In that last position, which he held until a few days ago, it came about almost concomitant with Israel’s counterattack on Hamas, launched a few days after Hamas’ bloodcurdling Oct. 7 attack on Israeli citizens and brutal taking of hostages. At the time, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu formed a six-member war Cabinet. 

The Cabinet was composed of three active decision members, and three observers. The decision makers were Netanyahu, Gantz and Israeli Defense Minister Yael Gallant.

Almost from the outset, tensions simmered between Netanyahu and Gantz.

For eight months, Bibi forged ahead with his plan to destroy Hamas in order that another Oct. 7 massacre would never occur again.

Gantz pushed for more deals with Hamas in order to obtain the release of more hostages.  But the problem with Gantz’s focus on freeing the remaining hostages is that  Hamas has repeatedly stated that they are not interested in more hostage deals. 

Moreover the sinister Hamas mastermind and leader, Yayha Sinwar, echoes the ‘no more hostage release’ sentiment.

In fact, Sinwar has openly crowed that he had Israel exactly where he wanted them: internationally isolated and vilified, global Jew-hatred rampant, and Israel a country ideologically divided.

Frequent protests crowd Israel’s streets, with one side demanding the return of all hostages, regardless the price. The other half of the populace exhorts Israel to score a decisive victory against Hamas in order to quell the chances of another Oct. 7. 

Against this complicated backdrop, yesterday, drama king Gantz resigned from the war Cabinet, taking one of the three observers, Gadi Eisenkot, along with him.

Astonishingly, Sinwar was quoted in the June 18, 2024 edition of the Wall Street Journal boasting of how he had kept two of his specialized Hamas brigades from the current fighting. His goal was to have them fresh and ready to swoop up control and governance of Gaza on the day after the fighting stops.

As with the oxymoronic two-state solution myth that will not die, Sinwar’s revelation bolsters Netanyahu’s quest for total Hamas defeat. 

Israel cannot coexist with an entity hell bent on its destruction.

Image: U.S. Department of State, via Wikipedia // public domain