Occupied Gaza
TownhallMar 23
Israeli War Cabinet Member Pushes for September Elections
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Image copyright: Tasos Katopodis/Stringer/Getty Images North America via Getty Images
The Facts
Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's war cabinet, on Wednesday called for elections to be held in September to "maintain unity" and "renew trust" in the government. Gantz said he had discussed the issue with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes holding early elections.
Netanyahu's Likud party rejected Gantz's call — stating that the government would stay in place "until all the goals of the war are achieved" — and argued that elections would lead to "paralysis and division" during "this fateful moment."
The Spin
Left narrative
Netanyahu is losing this war, and Israelis must find a way to oust him from power. Whether his right-wing coalition collapses, the Knesset enacts a vote of "constructive no confidence," the opposition withdraws from the unity government, or demonstrators put the heat on him, Netanyahu can't be allowed to drive Israel into the abyss. With Netanyahu's popularity at an all-time low, now might be the time to find a new premier.
Right narrative
The aftermath of Oct. 7 has presented a challenge to the US and Israel, but the rhetoric being deployed against Netanyahu is unreasonable. New elections would essentially paralyze the war effort and weaken Israel to a point where it could very well lose this existential struggle with terror. The only winner resulting from the left's attack on Netanyahu is Hamas.
Pro-Palestine narrative
The debate in Israel, the US, and the West more broadly is completely divorced from the material reality of the Palestinian people, who care little about which brand of Israeli leader is bombing them and which corrupt technocrat is chosen to run the PA. Palestinians want to be free in their homeland, yet their dreams are purposefully ignored by US and Israeli leaders who would rather force Palestinians into submission.
