Benny Gantz is one of the most responsible politicians in the State of Israel.
For him, the State of Israel is truly above everything.
Gantz has often had to go against his political base for the sake of unity, as part of dealing with complex security challenges - decisions that have caused him in the past, and may also cause him in the future, considerable political damage.
This was the case in 2020, with his decision to go to a national unity government with Netanyahu and the right, with the aim of preventing unnecessary repeat elections while Israel was dealing with the corona virus - a decision that led to the split of Blue and White, and subsequently to Gantz's decline in the center-left camp;
And so it was a few days after October 7, when the state camp party led by him joined the emergency government.
But despite the national responsibility shown by Gantz and his partners, there is a fear that once again it will be political considerations, and not necessarily national ones, that will prevent Israel from achieving strategic goals that are so important to the security and future of the Jewish state.
This was the case in 2020, when Israel missed a historic opportunity to determine its borders under the auspices of the Trump administration.
As I recall, after the Palestinians avoided discussing Trump's peace plan at all, the Americans continued to advance in negotiations with Israel and the moderate Arab states, while realizing that the Palestinian Authority and its leader are not ready for concessions and compromises in peace negotiations.
After the Palestinians opposed the plan of the century, there was an agreement between Jerusalem and Washington that Israel would unilaterally implement elements of the plan, within the framework of which the Jordan Valley and the settlement blocs, which make up about 30% of the West Bank, would be annexed.
But this is where the political element enters the picture: the leaders of Blue and White, Defense Minister Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, who in the past expressed support for the annexation of the Valley and the blocs, suddenly opposed this move, which would guarantee Israel's future borders with the support of the United States. Seeing that there is no broad national consensus in Israel - The American administration decided not to allow Israel to annex the Jordan Valley and the settlement blocs. Thus, due to irresponsible political considerations by Gantz and his partners within the political struggle with Netanyahu and the Likud, Israel missed a historic opportunity to determine its future borders - a move that would have constituted a kind of Israeli declaration that Jerusalem does not see 70% of the West Bank is part of the Jewish state.
Even today there is a similar fear that Gantz and his partners will lead Israel to miss a historic opportunity.
And again, this time too, in the name of narrow political considerations.
This time the discussion revolved around the tension between the main goals of the war: the overthrow of Hamas rule and the release of all the abductees.
While most members of the government, like the majority of the public, believe that the continuation of the fighting and the pressure on Hamas are the ones that will make its leaders agree to the release of the abductees without a cessation of hostilities - there are voices in the government and the opposition that support a deal with Hamas, even at the price of a cessation of hostilities and the release of thousands of terrorists with blood on their hands, among them those who responsible for the massacre.
Despite the national responsibility shown by Gantz and his partners, there is a fear that once again it will be political considerations, and not necessarily national ones, that will prevent Israel from achieving strategic goals that are so important to the security and future of the Jewish state
There is no one in Israel who disagrees that everything must be done to free the abductees who are held captive by Hamas, especially the citizens who were abducted from their beds after the state failed to protect them on the morning of October 7th.
However, there is a historic opportunity to finally eliminate the rule of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and to signal to our enemies that the Jewish state is determined to face those who want to destroy it.
This opportunity must in no way be missed in the name of narrow political considerations under the guise of concern for the abductees, a move that will perpetuate the rule of the Palestinian terrorist organization.
It is better that Gantz and his partners stand firm against the heavy pressure from their political base in the center-left camp, many of whom have not yet learned to understand that in the Middle East the strong survives and the weak is destroyed, and show national responsibility and determination to continue fighting until the fall of Hamas rule.
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