Blue and White chairman MK Benny Gantz warned that growing resentment toward the Chareidi community could lead to serious divisions within Israeli society, saying leaders must act to prevent what he described as a dangerous trend.

In an interview with Kikar HaShabbos, Gantz addressed a range of issues, including the emerging U.S.-Iran agreement, Chareidi enlistment, recent demonstrations on Route 4, and his political future.

Speaking about the reported U.S.-Iran agreement, Gantz argued that Prime Minister Netanyahu bears responsibility for the situation, calling it “a failure of Netanyahu.” He said Netanyahu should have worked more closely with President Trump to prevent the agreement from taking shape and stressed that Israel must retain complete freedom of action against future threats.

Addressing clashes between police and demonstrators on Route 4, Gantz said police should use the minimum force necessary when dealing with civilians. At the same time, he criticized what he described as extremist elements within the protests and expressed concern over growing tensions between Chareidim and the broader public.

“I say this with pain: hatred toward Chareidim is developing in the streets,” Gantz said. “It is not good, and it should not be this way. We need to live together.”

While emphasizing that he opposes incitement against Chareidim, Gantz reiterated his support for mandatory service and sanctions against those who ignore draft orders. Drawing a comparison to his own family, he said that if his son had failed to report after receiving a draft notice, he could have faced arrest.

“I am prepared to be patient, but I am not prepared to give up on sanctions,” Gantz said. “When my son received a draft order, if he had not shown up, he could have been arrested. What is different here?”

Despite polls showing Blue and White struggling politically, Gantz expressed confidence that the party will recover and pass the electoral threshold. He said his goal remains the formation of a national unity government.

Gantz also repeated his long-standing position that Netanyahu should leave office, saying, “Netanyahu must end his role. He is responsible for what happened here, for the good and the bad. This is a government, not an empire.”

Asked whether former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot or former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett would make a better prime minister, Gantz declined to choose between them, saying that the composition of the next government is ultimately more important than any single individual and again called for the creation of a broad national unity government.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)