"The war cabinet must prepare an action plan by June 8." This is the ultimatum of Israel's War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz who, addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, added: "You have to choose, if you don't choose we will leave the government."

Gantz, who is the founder of the Blue and White party that governs alongside Netanyahu's Likud, added: «The leadership must see the big picture, the war cabinet must decide by June 8 to bring the hostages home, shoot down Hamas and demilitarize Gaza and that there is a US-EU-Arab-Palestinian direction that lays the foundations of a future alternative to Gaza that is neither Hamas nor Abu Mazen." «The choice, Netanyahu - concluded Gantz - is in your hands, you have to decide. The Netanyahu of 10 years ago would have done it."

The prime minister's response was immediate: "While our heroic soldiers fight to destroy the Hamas battalions in Rafah, Gantz chooses to launch an ultimatum to the Prime Minister instead of launching one to Hamas", thundered Netanyahu.

Gantz's words also triggered immediate reactions in the opposition, starting with that of Yair Lapid: «Gantz – he said – must say that he will no longer help Netanyahu to remain in power and must immediately leave the government so that we can immediately move on to new elections."

(Unioneonline/lf)