BICOM

Benny Gantz told the Israeli public he would offer statesmanship and unity in a much anticipated campaign speech in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening, for his newly founded Hosen (‘Resilience’) party.

Gantz, who has been largely silent until now, spoke at length in a speech carried live by Israeli news networks. Gantz stressed the need for unity in place of the division he said was created by the current leadership, declaring: “A strong government governs to unite and doesn’t govern in order to separate, to rule.” He added: “A strong government creates security to calm anxieties and does not feed anxieties to insure its own survival.” Although he didn’t mention Benjamin Netanyahu by name he said you cannot serve as Prime Minister if you have been indicted on criminal charges, implying he would not join a future Netanyahu Government, without ruling it out definitively.

Gantz said he was committed to Israeli security in the face of threats from Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas, whilst also committing himself to the search for peace. He cited the legacy of former Prime Ministers Menachem Begin, Yizhak Rabin, and Netanyahu himself, referring to Netanyahu’s agreements with PLO leader Yasser Arafat to redeploy Israeli forces in Hebron and areas of the West Bank when he was Prime Minister from 1996-1999.

Gantz provided no details of his own plan to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and he did not refer explicitly to a Palestinian state. He said: “If it turns out that there is no way to reach peace at this time, we will shape a new reality … We will maintain security in the entire Land of Israel, but we will not allow the millions of Palestinians living beyond the separation fence to endanger our security and our identity as a Jewish state.” This could be interpreted as a policy of unilateral separation from the Palestinians in the West Bank. Gantz said Israel would hold on to the areas of settlement blocs close to the Green Line and the Jordan Valley but made no mention of the more isolated settlements in between.

Gantz also stressed his commitment to clean government, and to “deepen my partnerships with the ultra-Orthodox, the Arabs and the Druze.” He alluded to his criticisms of the recent nation state law – which controversially excluded an explicit reference to the equality of all citizens, by stating: “Israel is the State of the Jewish people, all of whose citizens are equal.”

The speech was preceded by an announcement that his party would run in a joint list with former Likud Defence Minister and IDF Chief of Staff Moshe ‘Bogie’ Yaalon. Even whilst Gantz was still speaking he was attacked by Likud ministers who said he was a voice of the left. Prime Minister Netanyahu tweeted: “Another speech by [centrist Yesh Atid party leader] Lapid. Whoever says he is neither left or right, is left.” Prime Minister Netanyahu scheduled a series of high profile foreign visits during the election campaign that is likely to include trips to India and Poland in February and a visit to the United States in March.