Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, a member of the military cabinet and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival has called for early parliamentary elections in September.
Netanyahu is facing pressure from several sides, including protests to step up efforts to free hostages from the October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the Gaza war. "We need to set a consensus date for September, or if you prefer for the first anniversary of the war," MP Gantz said in a speech from his office in the Knesset, Israel's parliament. Netanyahu's Likud party rejected the call, but it was welcomed by the leader of the US Senate, who last month called for new elections in a sharp criticism of Netanyahu's handling of the war. "When a leading member of Israel's military cabinet calls for early elections and over 70 per cent of the Israeli population agrees, according to a major poll, you know it's the right thing to do," Sen. Chuck Schumer wrote in Pratform X. elections require the consent of 61 elected officials or a majority of the Knesset, where Likud has the most seats but does not have a majority. Netanyahu's Likud said elections while Israel is at war would "inevitably lead to paralysis" and harm the military's fight in Gaza.
Demonstrations by opponents of Netanyahu have drawn thousands of people in recent weeks, particularly in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Protesters and relatives of hostages taken on October 7 called for the resignation of the prime minister.
According to the latest polls, in the event of an early election, Gantz would be significantly ahead of Netanyahu, whose popularity has been declining since the unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,170 Israelis and foreigners. /BGNES, AFP
