Gantz Says His Party Will Vote with the Opposition to Dissolve ‘Israeli’ Parliament

By Staff, Agencies

Zionist War Minister Benny Gantz said on Tuesday his ‘Blue and White’ party will vote in favor of an opposition-backed bill to dissolve the ‘Israeli’ parliament [Knesset], which would come for a preliminary vote on Wednesday.

In a statement to the press, Gantz said current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the one who led to what would be the Zionist entity’s fourth election in two years. "Netanyahu has decided to dissolve the government and drag ‘Israel’ into an election" by refusing to pass a two-year budget as laid out in the parties’ coalition agreement, Gantz stated.

He added, however, that if Netanyahu is willing to pass a budget before a December 23 deadline, an election could still be avoided.

Gantz argued that the public was paying for Netanyahu's failure to fulfill his campaign promises. "I wasn't the one misled by him, but rather the ‘Israeli’ public," Gantz said. "All of this is happening for a single reason… Netanyahu is only working to save himself from his trial."

The war minister said he had agreed to a unity coalition with Netanyahu “with a heavy heart,” but chose to do so because of the coronavirus crisis. “I had no illusions about Netanyahu,” he said. “I thought Netanyahu would rise to the occasion ... It didn’t happen.”

He also accused Netanyahu of turning the coronavirus pandemic “into a personal campaign of self-aggrandizement.”

Earlier on Tuesday, two cabinet ministers from the Labor Party, Amir Peretz and Itzik Shmuli, announced that they will also back the bill in Wednesday’s preliminary vote.

The coalition has yet to reach a compromise over the entity’s budget, which is the central disagreement between Gantz's Kahol Lavan and Netanyahu's Likud parties.