Less than two years after diving into Israel’s political waters, Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz is facing a decisive moment. The general who served as the 20th chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tried to ignore his impending decision, to circumvent it — to no avail. In recent days, he finally realized what many had warned him — that he had entered into a unity-coalition agreement with a man who never had any intention of seeing it through, just as the man had never made good on a single political agreement throughout his career.

Gantz, who has been demeaning and prostrating himself before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since their absurd “unity” power-sharing government was installed in mid-May, realized it was time to move on. If he still has an iota of political desire left in his body, he must end the suffering, get off the merry-go-round and prepare for the worst. What Gantz did Oct. 8 has the makings of political suicide. In a harsh, detailed letter sent after much hesitation, Gantz essentially told Netanyahu that unless he keeps his word immediately and moves ahead with preparation and approval of the 2021 state budget, Israel was heading for elections — the fourth round in less than two years.

Gantz donned a political suicide vest. However, his intention is not to eliminate himself politically just for the sake of ridding the country of those he deems his enemies, Gantz’s vest is loaded but not yet primed to explode. All Netanyahu has to do is keep the promise he made in writing just months ago. If he refuses, Gantz is supposed to press the virtual button and send them both sky high, out of the political sphere.

Gantz, whose Blue and White Party was neck-and-neck with Netanyahu’s Likud throughout three elections with the equivalent support of over 30 Knesset seats, is now polling at a meager seven to nine seats. Elections would end in defeat for Gantz and bury his political career. Netanyahu, who has also been dropping sharply in the polls (this week’s polls gave his Likud 26 to 27 seats compared with 41 just weeks ago) knows that he, too, could be wiped out if he stands for reelection at this time.