Israeli opposition leader warns of civil war due to Netanyahu's policies

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz on Monday warned of a possible civil war as a result of the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"If we don't come to our senses – we will have a civil war here. We must not obscure the truth," Gantz, leader of the National Unity party, said in a speech posted on his X account.

Praising the Israeli soldiers fighting in Gaza, he went on to say there is "a leadership that is inciting us against each other, social networks that are poisoning the well from which we drink."

Separately on Monday, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant earlier traded barbs over the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, with Gallant accusing the premier of obstructing a prisoner swap deal with Palestinians. Netanyahu also accused Gallant of following an anti-Israel narrative.

Gantz added that when Israeli soldiers are fighting what he called "the enemy," while members of the Knesset (Israel's parliament) "are leading a break-in into military bases," this is what a civil war looks like.

He was referring to a July 29 incident when Knesset members – along with right-wing Israeli protesters – broke into the Sde Teiman prison to protest the arrest of nine Israeli soldiers for sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee in the notorious prison.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack last October by Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Nearly 40,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 92,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar