The most prominent member of Israel's coalition government, a former prime minister, is advocating for early elections to be held in September.
Former Prime Minister Benny Gantz's call to agree on an election date comes as he leads Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by a wide margin in the polls amid the assault to eradicate Hamas in Gaza.
The Jerusalem Post reports that Gantz stopped short of declaring he would leave the wartime coalition if Netanyahu did not agree to his demand:
The statement marks the first time Gantz mentioned a specific month as a date for an election since joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an emergency government days after the Hamas massacre in October.
Gantz said that he had spoken to “political leaders” in recent weeks on the topic, that he had updated the prime minister, and that he would “continue dialogue on the subject.”
According to Gantz, an agreement to go to an election will give Israel the time it needs to continue its war efforts while enabling the citizens of Israel to know that “trust will soon be renewed between us.”
This will also prevent a schism amongst the people and hopefully allow other “Zionist and responsible” leaders to join the government during the interim period, Gantz said.
Gantz further argued that this action would help to strengthen the country's declining international support as civilian casualties in Gaza continue.
The statement comes during a bout of unrest in Jerusalem, with protest leaders publicly voicing their complaints about Netanyahu's actions leading up to and during the Israel-Hamas war.
Protesters have erected shelters outside the Knesset (Israeli House of Representatives) to accelerate the electoral process and pressure the government to accept any peace agreement that includes the release of the remaining Israeli hostages.
The planned four-day protest has resulted in clashes and the police forcibly dispersing crowds.
Some protesters also demonstrated against the Netanyahu government's military exemptions to ultra-Orthodox Jewish men.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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