As Gantz Resigns, Bibi Becomes More Isolated

June 10—The next act in the passion play in Israel aimed at removing the bloodthirsty Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, the menace of peace for that nation and the Palestinians, took place last night as Bibi’s main opponent, former general Benny Gantz resigned from the War Cabinet, pulling his Unity Party out of the coalition government which has provided cover to Bibi’s genocidal impulses since the murderous Hamas raid of Oct. 7, 2023.

Last month, Gantz had demanded that Bibi offer a concrete plan by June 8 for a post-war Gaza that did not involve a permanent occupation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), or he would resign. Since his intention is to fully destroy, not Hamas, but Gaza, and to continue to bleed the entire Palestinian population, Bibi has offered to such plan; instead he wants the IDF to perform the role of Waffen SS units, policing and effectively enforcing genocide without letup.

Sources report that Gantz, working with America’s most able diplomat, CIA Director William Burns, was instrumental in forcing the Burns-negotiated 3-phase ceasefire/hostage release plan through the War Cabinet, over Bibi’s objections. It was that plan, announced May 31 by President “Sleepy Joe” Biden as Israel’s peace offer to Hamas, that Netanyahu still has refused to endorse.

Gantz has urged Netanyahu to get behind the plan, and did so again in his televised resignation last night, but stated that it has become clear to him “that Netanyahu stands in the way of a real victory [for Israel] and an enduring peace.” He said this as sources report that Netanyahu changed the wording in the so-named “Israeli plan” submitted to Hamas, to make it more difficult for its leaders to accept; the changes seemed to indicate that Israel reserves the right to continue its war, after the initial 6-week ceasefire.

Gantz had delayed remarks originally scheduled for June 8, following another “trick” by Bibi: the deadly hostage rescue mission that freed four Israeli hostages with a horrific slaughter of innocent Palestinians in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza where they were being held; at latest count, almost 300 Palestinians, including scores of women, children, and elderly were killed, and nearly 800 wounded, with many losing limbs and some critically injured, overwhelming the area’s ruined health care facilities.

Gantz praised the rescue, but as has most of the world, expressed sadness at the loss of innocent lives. While Netanyahu pledged to set the IDF to engage in other such bloody rescues, informed sources report that this one was the only possible target for such a raid.

Meanwhile, sources say, Hamas-linked sources have stated that the raid has resulted in the deaths of an unknown number of hostages and that, in the future, all of them will be living in diminished circumstances. Leaders of Israel’s defense establishment, including those who would oversee future missions, believe that the best and perhaps only way to secure the return of the remaining hostages is through a deal of the type offered in the Biden plan.

Even with Gantz and the Unity Party’s exit from the coalition, Bibi has enough votes to sustain his government—for the time being. But the calls are rising from all over the political spectrum for Netanyahu to call for elections, and to seek a mandate against his intensely unpopular war policies, which have not only slaughtered innocent Palestinians and left Gaza in ruin, but could lead to a new and even bloodier war with Hezbollah in the West Bank.

Said a source, “the messianic Bibi and his collection of zealots have split Israel asunder, creating divisions in the population that, if not addressed, will soon lead to disaster. Ironically, Bibi may even then fail to prevent the eventual creation of a Palestinian state, but he will have destroyed the Israeli state. If there is to be stability in the region, this must be reversed. As Burns and others know, this means that Bibi’s tyrannical rule, that has struck blows even against the families of the hostages for demanding a peaceful solution, must come to an end.”

“I call on Netanyahu: set an agreed election date. Don’t let our people be torn apart,” said Gantz last night, talking about the possibility of elections in the Fall.

But that may not be soon enough. “Bibi is becoming more and more isolated,” said the source. “This is what Burns wants. At some point, there will be direct action against him. What if Hamas accepts the deal on the table with some small changes? If they are smart, they would do that because that deal means the end of Bibi. With Gantz gone he has little cover left.