Former Israeli War Minister, Benny Gantz, accused Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Thursday of obstructing a prisoner exchange deal with Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip for “political reasons”, Anadolu Agency reports.

Gantz, who leads the National Unity Party, resigned Sunday from the emergency government, claiming that Netanyahu’s actions were preventing a decisive victory in Israel’s onslaught against Gaza.
In an interview with Israel’s public broadcaster, Gantz said Netanyahu is blocking the prisoner exchange deal based on personal political calculations rather than the interests of Israel.
“Netanyahu has made several decisions recently for personal and political reasons,” Gantz added, without elaborating.
“I have tried for several months to influence decisions within the War Cabinet for Israel’s benefit, but to no avail,” he said.
Israeli opposition accuses Netanyahu of prolonging the onslaught because he believes his “political future” will end when the fighting stops, potentially leading to trials regarding past corruption charges.