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Gantz party plots to oust Netanyahu; ‘Iran-backed gangs’ attack Israeli embassies in Sweden

Gantz party plots to oust Netanyahu; ‘Iran-backed gangs’ attack Israeli embassies in Sweden
Bloomberg
By Bloomberg
30 May 2024
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The political party of Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli war Cabinet, said it wanted to dissolve the parliament in a bid to force early elections and oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Criminal gangs have been enlisted to attack Israeli interests in Sweden at the behest of Iran, according to Israeli and Swedish security services.

A United Nations tribute to Iran’s late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash this month, showcased deep divisions in the world body, as many nations praised his legacy while the US and Israel boycotted the event.

Gantz party calls vote to dissolve Israel’s parliament


The political party of Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli war Cabinet, said it wanted to dissolve the parliament in a bid to force early elections and oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The National Unity party said it was proposing a vote in the Knesset.

It’s unclear if Gantz’s party will garner enough support for the measure to pass if a vote goes ahead. Netanyahu’s Likud party is the largest in a ruling coalition holding 64 seats in the 120-seat chamber. 

Gantz and Netanyahu are in a three-man war Cabinet along with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Both have clashed with Netanyahu over the war strategy and Gantz has given the premier a deadline of 8 June to meet a series of demands. He’s said he’ll quit if they aren’t met.

Iran-backed gangs blamed for Israeli embassy attacks in Sweden


Criminal gangs have been enlisted to attack Israeli interests in Sweden at the behest of Iran, according to Israeli and Swedish security services. 

“The Security Service can conclude that criminal networks in Sweden are being used as proxies by Iran,” Daniel Stenling, the head of counterintelligence at Sweden’s Security Service, said at a news conference in Stockholm on Thursday. “Authorities on a national level will jointly implement activities to limit Iran’s ability for operations that threaten security in Sweden.”

Iran has been identified as among the main sources of threats against Sweden, along with China and Russia. Stenling said his agency had seen that the country was increasingly targeting the interests of states that it perceived itself as being in conflict with, such as Israel.

Israeli media, including The Times of Israel, earlier reported that the country’s Mossad spy agency had concluded that a criminal gang known as Foxtrot in Sweden was behind an attempted attack on the Israeli embassy in January, when a hand grenade was found inside the embassy grounds. According to the intelligence agency, the attack was carried out at Iran’s behest.

Swedish police declined to comment specifically on that attack or a subsequent event when gunfire was heard near the embassy.

The Foxtrot group has been involved in numerous violent conflicts in Sweden, contributing to an unprecedented rise in the number of gang-related firearm killings in recent years.

“We have seen that individuals have been moving between terrorism and violent extremism on the one hand, and organised crime on the other,” Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said at the news conference. “What we are seeing now is also a connection between organised crime and state actors.”

UN tribute to Iran’s Raisi underscores divide in world body


A United Nations tribute to Iran’s late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash this month, showcased deep divisions in the world body, as many nations praised his legacy while the US and Israel boycotted the event.

Nate Evans, a spokesperson for the US mission, said that “some of the worst human rights abuses on record took place during his tenure”. The Israeli mission said, “It is a poor reflection on an organisation to eulogise a dictator responsible for the murder of thousands of his own citizens.”

By contrast, Burundi’s Ambassador Zéphyrin Maniratanga, speaking on behalf of 54 African countries, described Raisi as a “visionary leader” and praised him for fostering international cooperation. The representative of Uganda, speaking on behalf of so-called non-aligned nations, said Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who also died in the crash, played a crucial role in increasing cooperation among developing countries.

Representatives of Latin American and Asian countries also expressed their condolences before the nearly 200-member General Assembly, as European nations remained silent.

Read more: What death of President Raisi means for Iran, Mideast: QuickTake

Speaking before the General Assembly on Thursday morning, Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his deepest condolences to Raisi’s family, while adding that the UN “stands in solidarity with the Iranian people and in the quest for peace, development and fundamental freedoms”.

While the US State Department issued a statement expressing its “official condolences” after Raisi’s death, Secretary of State Antony Blinken soon after hastened to say that the people of Iran “are probably better off” and “we are definitely not grieving over his death”.

Netanyahu’s popularity on the rise in blow to Israeli rivals


Netanyahu is starting to regain his popularity after struggling politically for more than a year, out-polling his main rival Gantz for the first time since the war against Hamas began in October.

A Channel 12 survey conducted on Wednesday of 500 voters representing a cross-section of Israeli society asked: “Who is better suited to serve as prime minister?” It found that 36% chose Netanyahu and 30% Gantz. The margin of error was 4.4%.

Last month, Gantz was ahead by 35% to 29%.

In the new poll, Netanyahu was also ahead of opposition leader Yair Lapid by 37% to 30% and edged above former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett by 34%-32%. 

The findings represent a setback to Israeli opposition leaders who have been trying to work out a way to drive Netanyahu from office as the conflict in Gaza drags on, yet no election is due till 2026 and there’s little evidence that Netanyahu’s party members or coalition partners are ready to desert him.  

Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff and a member of Gantz’s party who’s in the inner Cabinet, spoke harshly of Netanyahu on Wednesday, accusing him of failing Israel and urging new elections before the end of the year.

The various coalition options favour the opposition forming a government if elections were held now. 

The survey found Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party making gains on Gantz’s centrist National Unity party. If elections were held today, Likud would win 21 seats and National Unity 25 out of parliament’s 120. That four-point gap compares with a December poll that had Gantz’s party at 37 and Netanyahu’s at 18.

The Gaza war started when Hamas militants invaded Israel on 7 October, killing 1,200 people and abducting 250. Israel’s counterattack has left 36,000 dead, according to authorities in the Hamas-run territory who don’t distinguish between civilians and fighters. Hamas is viewed as a terrorist group by the US and European Union. DM

Read more in Daily Maverick: Middle East crisis news hub

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