State Camp party leader and war cabinet member and minister Benny Gantz announced this evening (Sunday) that he and his party were leaving the national emergency government he had joined in the weeks after October 7, accusing Prime Minister Netanyahu of preventing true victory.
In his statement to the press, Gantz said: "Months after the October disaster, the situation in the state and the decision making room changed. Netanyahu and his partners made unity into an excited cry - without any cover in reality. Fateful strategic decisions encountered hesitation and procrastination out of political considerations. Netanyahu is preventing us from advancing towards a true victory. Therefore we are leaving the emergency government today with a heavy heart, but with a whole heart."
Gantz called on Netanyahu to call for elections: "In the fall, a year since the disaster, we need to go for elections at the end of which a government will emerge which will earn the people's trust and can face the challenges. I call on Netanyahu: set an agreed upon date for elections. Don't let our nation be torn."
He also turned to Defense Minister Gallant: "Defense Minister, you are a brave and determined leader and above all - a patriot. In this time, leadership and courage are not just saying what's right - but doing what's right."
"Some say that we helped Netanyahu when we entered the government - he's not the issue, but the State of Israel. I know that they say that I am not a cheat, a hater, and unscrupulous like my rivals. True, but I can promise you one thing - I am willing to die for your children. My friends and I will always present when the state needs us. At any political cost and without fear of what they will say."
"I want to ask forgiveness of the families of the hostages. We did much - we failed the test of results. We still did not succeed in returning many of the hostages home. The responsibility is also mine. I stand behind the outline we adopted at the war cabinet, and whose principles were presented by President Biden, and demand the Prime Minister to have the needed courage to stand behind it and do everything to advance it."
Regarding the thorny question of refusal: "I call on the serving citizens of Israel - continue to present."
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