Leaders of Israel’s opposition yesterday criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the truce deal with Gaza.
According to Arab 48, head of the Blue and White (Kahol Lavan) alliance, Benny Gantz, said:
“The deal which was reached last night proves that Hamas dictates [its demands] to Netanyahu. Deterrence cannot be achieved this way.”
Gantz calls for ‘strong blows’ to reestablish Israeli deterrence in Gaza https://t.co/VjhV9m79zo
— Israel Headline News (@IsraelHeadlines) June 28, 2019
During a tour of southern Israeli communities near the besieged Gaza Strip, Gantz said:
“I am now here in the Gaza periphery and I can see Netanyahu is preparing Hamas’ incendiary balloons, which once again cause fire. We have lost deterrence.”
Gantz: Deal to end Gaza arson attacks shows Netanyahu ‘filling Hamas’s balloons’ https://t.co/SlCsOzxTeh
— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) June 28, 2019
He added:
“We have to achieve deterrence through massive attacks. If there is no strong response, there is no deterrence. If there is no deterrence, there is no calm”.
On Friday, Israel and Hamas reached a new agreement brokered by the UN and Egypt that renewed the truce between the two parties in return for Israel’s resumption of fuel supplies to Gaza’s power plant and the expansion of the fishing zone.
#BREAKING: #Israel|i Security Cabinet to meet at 1:00 PM today to discuss security incidents at the border, and the agreement w/ #Hamas https://t.co/AP4ua00ng8
— ｄｏｇｅ元首 (@IntelDoge) June 30, 2019
Another senior leader of Kahol Lavan, Gabi Ashkenazi, echoed Gantz’s sentiment, saying:
“This is not a truce. Netanyahu gave up on the residents of the Gaza periphery […] Go there and see what is are they doing. They are waiting for answers.”
RT PalestineChron "#Israel’s Common Denominator: Why Israel Will Continue to Bomb #Gaza by Ramzy Baroud https://t.co/0hhy8NPGfC PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/LfxggHniY2"
— Richard Hardigan (@RichardHardigan) May 13, 2019
Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak – who this week announced he would launch a new party to contest the September election – wrote on Twitter:
“This is submission to Hamas […] After hundreds of fires, we have a new problematic deal which could last for a couple of days.”
Other opposition figures weighed in on the debate, with one eye on their political ambitions ahead of Israel’s general election in September.
(Middle East Monitor, PC, Social Media)
