Israel's War Cabinet Minister calls for election in six months

April 3 (UPI) -- Israel War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz called for parliamentary elections in September and said he notified Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday.

Gantz joined Netanyahu's governing coalition after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and said an election would keep Israel unified by renewing the trust Israeli voters have in the government, All Israel News reported.

During a televised news conference Wednesday, Gantz said holding an election "will allow us to continue the military effort, while signaling to the citizens of Israel that we will soon renew their trust in us," the Times of Israel reported.

Gantz said holding an election nearly a year after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and its citizens would deliver "international legitimacy" to Israel.

Gantz leads the National Unity Party in Israel, while Netanyahu is a member of the Likud Party.

Officials for the Likud Party accused Gantz of "engaging in petty politics" due to the "disintegration" of the National Unity Party, CNN reported.

"Elections now will inevitably lead to division, damage to the fighting in Rafah and fatal damage to the chances of a hostage deal," the Likud Party said in a statement. "The government will continue until all the goals of the war are achieved."

Opposition leader Yair Lapid disagreed with the Likud Party and in a post on X called for the current government under Netanyahu to resign as soon as possible, saying Israel can't wait six months to "return the kidnapped, return the evacuees home, defeat Hamas and ensure that someone takes care of the Israeli middle class."

Netanyahu already dismissed calls for elections despite recent public protests in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.