The Algemeiner reports: Benny Gantz, the former IDF chief of staff who led the army during the last war with Hamas, is set to form his own political party, Israel’s Channel Two reported on Wednesday.
Gantz’s performance in 2014’s Operation Protective Edge was viewed largely positively in Israel, and his political ambitions have been the subject of much speculation. Gantz is generally presumed to be center-left in orientation, but has kept silent on political issues thus far.
According to Channel Two, Gantz has chosen the option of setting up an independent party because this will give him greater latitude in the next round of coalition negotiations. Rather than tie his destiny to the center-left parties Yesh Atid or the Zionist Union, which would likely remain in opposition, an independent Gantz would be able to maneuver for a possible ministerial post in a Likud-led government.
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