The current Israeli government coalition is comprised of “two religious parties and two Zionist parties,” Tsipis explains.
Gantz’s departure initially raised concerns that the “religious parties” may withdraw from the coalition, and the departure of even one party from the coalition would trigger the collapse of the government, the analyst adds.
The recent passage of a bill on draft exemption for Orthodox Jews, however, essentially ensured that the “religious parties” will not pull out of the coalition, at least for now.
Now, Gantz is apparently attempting to woo Yoav Gallant, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party and the current Israeli minister of defense who opposed the aforementioned bill.
“Gallant, is a member of Netanyahu’s party but voted against the law that Netanyahu brought forth – essentially, there is currently a schism within Likud,” Tsipis notes.
“If Gantz manages to bring Gallant to his side, to the opposition, then Gallant would leave the government,” he adds. “Then the government would collapse and new elections would be announced.”
Tsipis also suggested that Gantz’s departure from the Israeli government is unlikely to as much of an impact on the ongoing bloodbath in the Gaza Strip as the recently adopted UNSC resolution.
The United States and the UN now seek to pressure Netanyahu into ceasing the operation in Gaza and making a deal with Hamas, which would be regarded as a defeat by the Israelis, Tsipis claims.
A failure to dismantle Hamas and kill its leaders would mean the defeat of Tel Aviv, becoming an utter disaster for Netanyahu, he concludes.