Top Netanyahu rival calls for early elections in Israel

Benny Gantz, a member of the war cabinet, called for parliamentary elections in September.

The call by Benny Gantz, left, was welcomed by Chuck Schumer. Picture: AFP

Israeli minister Benny Gantz, a member of the war cabinet and main rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Wednesday called for parliamentary elections in September.

Mr Netanyahu faces pressure from several sides, including from protesters demanding boosted efforts to secure the release of hostages taken in Hamas’s October 7 attack that sparked war in Gaza.

“We must set a consensual date for the month of September, or if you prefer for the first anniversary of the war,” said Mr Gantz in a speech from his office in the Knesset.

Mr Netanyahu’s Likud party rejected the call, but it was welcomed by the leader of the US Senate, who last month urged new elections in a strident criticism of Mr Netanyahu’s handling of the war. “When a leading member of Israel’s war cabinet calls for early elections and over 70 percent of the Israeli population agrees according to a major poll, you know it’s the right thing to do,” Chuck Schumer wrote on X.

Early elections require the agreement of 61 elected officials, or the majority of deputies in the Knesset, where the Likud has the most seats without, however, having a majority.

Likud said elections while Israel was at war “would inevitably lead to paralysis” and harm the military’s fight in Gaza.

Demonstrations by opponents of Mr Netanyahu have brought together thousands of people in recent weeks and particularly since Saturday, notably in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Protesters and the relatives of hostages taken on October 7 called for the resignation of the Prime Minister.

According to the latest polls, in the event of early elections, Mr Gantz would be well ahead of Mr Netanyahu, whose popularity has been declining since the unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7.

The attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1200 Israelis and foreigners, mainly civilians.

Palestinian militants took more than 250 hostages on October 7 and 130 remain in Gaza, including 34 who the army says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 32,975 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

AFP