The liberal left-wing media threw massive support behind Benny Gantz after his maiden political speech Jan. 29. Haaretz, the flagship newspaper of the Israeli left, devoted an editorial, commentary and numerous reports to Gantz, describing him as a fitting “alternative” with a good chance to defeat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The paper even rose to the challenge of defending Gantz from attacks on his Achilles’ heel, i.e., his handling as chief of staff of Operation Protective Edge in 2014 and the way he was late in tackling the problem of the Hamas terror tunnels. The paper’s military commentator determined that the political leadership, meaning Netanyahu, was a full partner in everything attributed to Gantz.

Support for Gantz is based in the belief that he has a chance to take down Netanyahu, the greatest enemy of the Israeli left. But by coronating Gantz as the leader of their bloc, the center-left is making a basic mistake. Lt. Gen. Gantz (Res.) is far from being a dove, and he has proved as much over the past few weeks with his messages, speech and deeds. Actually, Gantz has positioned himself on the right-wing flank of the Likud in almost every issue he raised in his speech. The only exception was his position on matters of religion and state.

This was already apparent in the first videos released by Gantz’s staff about two weeks ago. These included a clip of the 2012 assassination of Ahmed Jabari, the Hamas military commander in the Gaza Strip. The clip also boasted about the large number of Palestinian casualties during Operation Protective Edge and showed images of how the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “flattened” entire neighborhoods in Gaza during that operation.

These aren’t exactly the kind of messages that appeal to the Israeli left. Yet in his speech this week, Gantz was even more blunt; he warned Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that he would take action against him on all fronts and deliver devastating blows to his country. Later in his speech, when speaking about Gaza, Gantz even outflanked Netanyahu on the right by suggesting to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar that he better not “test him.” It was the kind of bellicose statement frequently heard from Netanyahu and his former Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman. He then attacked Netanyahu for allowing Qatar to transfer money to Gaza, saying, “I will not allow the payment of protection cash payments in suitcases to murderous gangs under the disgraceful protection of screaming Cabinet members.” He then warned the Hamas leadership that the policy of targeted killings, halted by Netanyahu, would resume once he is in power.