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Will 'The Prince' Dethrone 'King Bibi'? Israeli Ex-Military Chief Aims at
Premiership

Reuters

   JERUSALEM - Confronted by a right-wing heckler while on the campaign
   trail in Israel, Benny Gantz grabbed the man by the lapels, stared
   cooly into his eyes and rumbled: "No one's doing anything wrong by you.
   We only want what's good for you."

   The encounter was part embrace, part menace - ambiguous, as is much
   about ex-general Gantz, who was tasked on Wednesday with forming the
   next coalition government after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
   abandoned his own bid to do so.

   President Reuven Rivlin turned to Netanyahu first following a Sept. 17
   election in which no party won a majority. Gantz was next in line after
   his centrist Blue and White party won 33 seats in parliament, one more
   than Netanyahu's conservative Likud.

   The 60-year-old Gantz, nicknamed "The Prince" as he rose through army
   ranks, now has the chance to dethrone Netanyahu, who is sometimes
   referred to as "King Bibi" after dominating Israeli politics for more
   than a decade as prime minister.

   As chief of the conscript military between 2011 and 2015, Gantz was a
   consensus figure. He has tried to retain this broad appeal as head of
   Blue and White, a newly formed party named after the national colors.

   But what he would do in power is not completely clear as he has avoided
   committing himself on some important issues.

   Gantz casts himself as more diplomatically accommodating than
   Netanyahu, urging redoubled efforts to restart peace talks with the
   Palestinians, but has stopped short of any commitment to the statehood
   they seek.

   Supporters see Gantz's reticence as an attempt to calm the political
   scene after two elections this year - Netanyahu also failed to form a
   government after an April ballot. They say Gantz would rather keep his
   own counsel than sap his credibility with promises that voters know
   will never be delivered.

   As top general, Gantz orchestrated two Gaza wars in which around 2,300
   Palestinians were killed.

   "We don't differentiate between either Gantz or Netanyahu," said Moussa
   Abu Mazouk of Gaza's dominant Hamas Islamists.

   The more moderate Palestinian Authority has said it is open to talking
   to any Israeli leader. But Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestine Liberation
   Organization official, also said before the September election that
   Gantz was no different from Netanyahu.

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