1. Minister Benny Gantz recently gave Netanyahu an ultimatum saying he would leave the government by June 8th if Netanyahu does not do x, y and z before that.

Ben Gvir says as the responsible minister it is his right and responsibility to make this decision. Minister of something I am not sure what Benny Gantz is going to bat for Katy Perry saying his entry into the coalition for the unity government was conducted under condition that her term be extended. Does Netanyahu give Ben Gvir the leeway to make this decision as part of the responsibility of his office while breaking another agreement with Gantz or does he put a stop on Ben Gvir to placate Gantz. Either way, this could develop poorly for the stability of the coalition, though Netanyahu will probably solve it by paying one of them off with some other benefit to give in on this. If it matter, MK Aryeh Deri is saying agreements must be kept so the agreement with Gantz's party is primary and Ben Gvir must take a step back. I am not sure why that agreement takes greater priority over the coalition agreement with Ben Gvir himself that gives the right to make this decision.

I have no idea why keeping Katy Perry in this position is so important to Benny Gantz that he conditioned entry into the government on this and is standing by it now. I guess he does not want Ben Gvir to have the ability to appoint one of his people to the position, rather than it being specific support for Perry. 

In general I think Ben Gvir as responsible minister should have the right to make this decision and appointment. Not only that but Katy Perry should have resigned form the position back in 2021 after 6 Hamas prisoners escaped form the Gilboa prison - not right away, but after they were recaptured and the crisis was resolved she should have taken responsibility and resigned. As well, if she disagrees with the responsible minister and refuses to implement his policy, as he claims, she should have resigned a while ago as well (the same way the head of the gun licensing department resigned because of Ben Gvir's policy of easing requirements for gun access).

That being said, we are in the middle of a war and I thought the public policy we are working with is not to change leadership at this time, and to not even talk about the possibility. if we can change such an important position in the middle of the war with security ramifications, why not also change, or talk about changing, who holds other positions and whether they should or shouldnt be replaced?

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Gantz's plan for passing laws to reform the system includes items like:

for a community saying we will only join a coalition under Benjamin Netanyahu and will not sit with Gantz I find it funny that they will then go ahead and put up a pashkevil all over Haredi areas saying Gantz added Matan Kahane who destroyed the Torah world  to his party and by doing so he is stabbing the Haredi Judaism community in the back.

I like how they always know how to play victim. They say we wont sit with you but then when you do anything they dont like you are stabbing them in the back.

I dont know much about Eizenkot. He brings value with his name and seems to be popular, though by now we all know that success in the IDF does not necessarily translate to success in politics. We shall yet see what his beliefs are (some are claiming his political beliefs are closer to extreme left than center right), and more importantly whether he has staying power and if he has what it takes to build a political base and not just ride on his name. 

I think Matan Kahane joining with Eizenkot and Saar/Gantz is a good move for him and for them. I believe he has enough of a political following and will bring some additional support to the party, and it gives Kahane a good platform for his ideas. I like that he is interested in the religious side of Israel and wants to improve and change things for the better (though plenty disagree that it is for the better, but from his perspective it is). Most parties and politicians until now, all of them actually, preferred to not be interested at all in religious affairs and would just outsource all religious issues to the Haredi parties. I think it is good that other people are actually interested in them and not just pawning them off out of disinterest. 

Interestingly, MK Moshe Gafni (UTJ), who until now has supposedly unofficially blacklisted Matan Kahane warning, supposedly, other parties that if they bring him into their ranks UTJ wont work with them in the future, reportedly said that this is a fatal mistake. Gafni has been floating rumors that if Netanyahu does not garner 61 mandates in the upcoming elections, all bets are off and they could potentially work with Benny Gantz in forming a coalition. Until now all the other parties (except for Lieberman's) have been tiptoeing around the Haredim since this election cycle began, even though the Haredi MKs keep saying they will only work with Netanyahu and even go with him to the Opposition, hoping that they could draw the Haredim into a possible centrist coalition. Gafni is the only one who has said this is possible, and even Gafni himself said the other day, after a talk with Netanyahu, that he wont go to a coalition with anyone else, only the Right behind Netanyahu. So I am not sure what Gafni is now saying the merge with [Eizenkot and] Kahane is a fatal mistake if he wont work with them anyway. He said he wont work with them and only with Netanyahu a thousand times, including just a couple of days ago, after saying once or twice that Gantz is a possibility, so if that door was actually ever open, which is unlikely and probably just false hope, it seems now to be closed.

Overall, Eizenkot and Kahane joining Gantz and Saar, I think, is a good move for them all. We'll see how long it last though. And we'll see if it helps them either form a coalition or prevent Netanyahu form forming one. Likud also courted Eizenkot, so presumably this could potentially pull away some voters Likud was trying to attract.

  -- Minister of Defense Benny Gantz

lol

I think that is a good move for both of them, and I like both of these parties, so I think it is good from that perspective as well. Maybe they can even get some momentum and become the second largest party behind the Likud, surpassing Yesh Atid. They are not far behind at this point and with a bit of work they might be able to do it.

I just dont like that it looks like they might be dumping Yoaz Hendel, but that would not, should not, be a deal breaker.

Sorry abotu that - it does not go over so well in English. In Hebrew there is an expression - הוא אוכל את הדייסה שהוא בישל or אכלת את הדייסה שבישלת - you eat the farina you cooked. Similar to you made your bed, you sleep in it. These are the consequences of your actions.

MK Yisrael Eichlet (UTJ) was just trying to persuade Minister of Defense Benny Gantz to join a Netanyahu -led government and avoid elections with Gantz serving as Prime Minister (first in rotation). Gantz's reply was - you only fool me once. I do not trust him.

That's it. Netanyahu's games have done him in. he is eating the farina he cooked. And in the summer no less! In the winter farina is ok, but in the summer???

Fool me once, shame on you. Gantz doesnt want to get to the "shame on me" part of that Anthony Weldon expression...

Reportedly Gantz refused.

I understand that until now he has refused such advances so as not to bring down the government to bring back Netanyahu, but at this point the government is already brought down (though technically it will only be brought down in a few more days), so I am not sure who he is remaining loyal to. Unless he really does not trust Netanyahu even at this point - he has already been burned by Netanyahu, but at this point he doesnt have much to lose anyway. Also he might be taking an extremely moral and principled stand (even if only in his opinion) to not be the one effecting an indicted person and someone he considers not trustworthy, dishonest and immoral to return to power.

Or maybe it is just negotiating for a better deal, more than 1 year at the helm, or maybe some other conditions.

I wonder. At this point I am not sure what is happening

  -- Defense Minister Benny Gantz, when asked what he thought about Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's recent letter calling the silent Zionist majority to action

neither did I

  -- MK Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud), after reports say he has again tried to persuade Gantz to leave the government and form a government with Likud, with Gantz serving first as Prime Minister

Prime Minister Netanyahu and Alternate Prime Minister Gantz sitting back to back at the 24th Knesset swearing-in ceremony today. Tensions between them have been high, putting it mildly, for a while now...

The two of them look like a couple of little children in kindergarten....

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  -- Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz

I am not sure if that is very self-aware or not at all self-aware...

I am not sure why two days is worth a fight, in either direction. Two more days of lockdown is not going to bring down the numbers significantly. What has not worked over the past four weeks or so is not going to suddenly work in the next two days.

And avoiding two more days, one of which has almost all businesses closed anyway for Shabbos, is not going to make much of a difference. Opening up Sunday morning instead of Sunday evening isn't going to save the economy or the kids schooling and mental conditions.

If the fight was over another two week extension, ok, I would get it. But two days, one of which is Shabbos? I don't get the big deal either way.

Just as the last government was in the process of falling apart, the Haredi parties wanted to get the Draft law passed. They claimed everything was ready and prepared and mostly agreed upon and approved by Defense Minister Benny Gantz and it could be passed pretty quickly. Gantz refused to pass it, as it was one of the last cards he had to play in his politicking with Netanyahu and the Haredi parties. 

I don't know if the Haredi parties were lying about that or if Gantz changed his tune now, but Benny Gantz has just proposed a new formula for the Draft law he plans to propose.

Gantz announced that he wants to establish an administrative body that will be staffed by both military and civilian representatives. Everybody, that is including Haredim and Arabs, coming to draft age will be sorted by this administrative body. The military, the IDF, will choose its soldiers form those that want to serve and everyone else will have to do two years of some form of civilian service.

Civilian service will include service to the community in hospitals, Magen David Adom, the Police, Firestations, education, helping the disabled, ZAKA, community centers, etc.

Gantz says this will increase the sense of equality in Israeli society and will mend the tears between groups and sectors of our society, along with helping improve service provided in all these civilian institutions. It will help the youth in their growth, will encourage excellence, and will improve societal infrastructure. 

People doing civil service will have to serve in this capacity for two years.

I don't know if this is a good plan or not, realistic or not, but presenting this plan now means that either the Haredi parties were lying about Gantz's ready agreement and approval of the original draft law with minor changes or Gantz is being vindictive, and maybe trying to get back a few voters, by changing his plan now when he already worked out a plan that he knew would be acceptable. unless this is that plan, but I dont think so - it is very different than what was being proposed previously, even though the public was never made privy to all the details of that plan. There is no way the Haredi parties would agree to this plan, nor would they have fought for it to be passed at the last minute in the previous government.

  -- Minister of Defense [and Alternate PM] Benny Gantz

according to the pols, that day is quickly approaching... we'll know in less than 3 months...

While other issues were on the table, according to the news reports the main impediment was Nissenkorn in the Justice Ministry. Netanyahu wanted him out, seeing him as implementing Leftist policy and preventing Netanyahu from being involved in the selection of judges, while Gantz supported his guy and said he will not remove Nissenkorn from the Justice Ministry.

Nissenkorn has announced he is leaving Kachol Lavan and will instead join the new party to be formed by Ron Huldai (currently mayor of Tel Aviv). Reports say that, in light of that decision, tonight Gantz is going to remove Nissenkorn from the Justice Ministry.

It is a little late now to save the government, but it is ironic that now that the government has fallen and elections declared, Gantz is really giving Netanyahu what he wanted that probably could have saved the government from collapse just a week ago.

  -- Defense Minister (and Alternate Prime Minister) Benny Gantz, in interview to a Saudi newspaper

not really sure what that means. How can two countries control [parts of] a city? Which country decides all the various issues necessary - political decisions, logistical, security, etc?