From the Meeting With Netanyahu to Joining the Government: Gantz Reveals the Moments After the Massacre

New details about the dramatic hours and days after the Simchat Torah massacre, the turbulent contacts to form the national emergency government, and the sharp dispute at the top of the opposition are revealed in the new book by Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz, "We", which is expected to be published in the coming days. In a special chapter dealing with the events of October 7, published on the News 14 website, Gantz offers a rare glimpse into the tense atmosphere in the Kirya and the political and moral disagreements behind the scenes. "When I arrived for the meeting with Netanyahu that day, I did not focus on him, nor on the political costs," Gantz wrote. "I focused on the atmosphere in the room and in the lobby. Outside stood dejected officers. The military secretary, Maj. Gen. Avi Gil, entered the meeting repeatedly with notes in his hands. Every note was more difficult than the one before it." He later describes the gathering of senior members of his party and the decision to join the government: "That evening we gathered in our offices, senior party officials and the staff. The decision to enter the government was made מתוך a simple understanding: it was our duty and the only way to influence what was happening in the country, the fighting and the fate of the state." According to him, it took four days of talks with Likud before the main terms were agreed: "Four days passed before we finalized the terms: a limited war cabinet that would give us real influence, a complete freeze on the judicial overhaul, and a commitment that senior civil service officials would not be dismissed."

A significant part of the chapter is devoted to Gantz's deep disagreements with opposition leader and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid, who, as recalled, refused to enter the government and chose to remain outside. "Some argued that one could settle for a 'safety net' from outside the government. From the Kirya I went to Yair Lapid, who thought this was the time to issue an ultimatum regarding the continuation of the coalition partnership with Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir." He also wrote: "I remember these arguments. At that moment, when all our enemies were considering joining the attack and opening a multi-front campaign, all of that seemed trivial to me. The right decision was to join the government, unite the country, and show the enemy that we were speaking with one voice and acting together." In the continuation of the chapter, Gantz clarified that unlike Lapid and others, he did not think it was necessary to demand that ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir be removed from the government as a condition for joining. "In all honesty, I thought that at a moment of existential need for unity among the people, it was not legitimate to present demands for division," he wrote. "Many of our fighters are from the Religious Zionist camp, and Ben Gvir's voters also serve the nation. I did think there was no place for their representation in the narrow forum, but our duty was to embrace the entire Israeli society, because we truly did not know what the future would bring." Gantz added that support for the government was, in his view, the order of the day at that time. "It is important and right that we give full backing to the government. If the pilots are flying and 'Brothers in Arms' are returning, we cannot remain indifferent. This is understood in the faction, it is less understood by Yair Lapid." The material being published now provides a rare glimpse into the considerations that led Gantz to join the emergency government after the Simchat Torah massacre, and into the disputes that unfolded behind the scenes in the center-left camp in the first hours and days of the war.