Israel’s divisions deepen

Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven’t yet, sign up here.Pressure is rising on Israeli Prim [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven’t yet, sign up [here](. Pressure is rising on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to formulate a post-war plan for Gaza, with political rivals accusing him of indecision and the US [warning of a power vacuum]( emerging in the devastated Palestinian territory. Splits in the war cabinet [burst into the open]( this week. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant chastised Netanyahu for not trying to establish a Palestinian governing body as an alternative to Hamas. Without that, he said, the Israeli military would be forced to occupy Gaza, which would be “dangerous” for the Jewish state. He was quickly backed by Benny Gantz, a former head of the Israel Defense Forces. The premier hit back, saying that rather than focusing on so-called “day-after” issues, the IDF needs to concentrate on routing the remnants of Hamas — designated a terrorist organization by the US — in the southern Gazan city of Rafah. Netanyahu wants to block any involvement of the Palestinian Authority, which rules parts of the West Bank and controlled Gaza before Hamas took over in 2007. At the same time, Hamas is regrouping in parts of Gaza, causing the IDF to send troops back to areas, including the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, that were cleared of the group’s fighters months ago. That’s led to some criticism of Israel’s tactics of not keeping troops in areas when fighting stops to secure them, including by former US General David Petraeus. This week, South Africa, in a case supported by Brazil, Turkey and others, [urged the International Court of Justice]( to order Israel to do more to protect civilians and said “its aim of destroying Gaza from the map is being realized.” Israel [rejected the accusation](. Until the war ends and there’s clarity over what happens to Gaza, Israel’s internal divisions will likely fester and its global standing worsen.— [Paul Wallace]( Palestinians search for missing people following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza this week. Photographer: Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg Global Must Reads Ukrainian forces have “stabilized” Russia’s weeklong offensive in the country’s north-east, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said after meeting with his key commanders in Kharkiv, the border city that’s become [the focus of Moscow’s attacks](. Meanwhile, Rosneft’s large Tuapse refinery on the Black Sea was on fire early today after one of Ukraine’s largest drone attacks in Russia. Taiwan inaugurates Lai Ching-te as president on Monday, after an election in which the three main candidates underscored the importance of the island of 24 million people — a global hub of chip manufacturing — being [ruled separately from China](. Lai’s first speech as president will be [scrutinized by US policymakers]( seeking signals on the incoming administration’s strategy for relations with the government in Beijing. Lai Ching-te. Photographer: An Rong Xu/Bloomberg Young Chinese professionals piled into property ownership as a way to secure their wealth, insurance and retirement savings. But when President Xi Jinping’s government cracked down on borrowing [the boom fell apart](, and many who thought they’d found an escalator into the middle class had their life upended. The authorities today eased mortgage rules, their [most forceful attempt]( yet to shore up the beleaguered market. North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile toward [waters off its east coast](, hours after the outspoken sister of leader Kim Jong Un blasted as “fiction” accusations that her nation was exporting weapons to Russia. Kim Yo Jong [made her comments]( after the US imposed new sanctions on the arms trade that Washington says is powering the Kremlin’s assault on Ukraine. Deadly heat is engulfing several northern Indian states, while the south is getting heavy pre-monsoon rains, [posing health risks]( for hundreds of thousands of people participating in election rallies. The vote in India, the world’s biggest democracy, is nearing a climax, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi looking to secure a third term when the results of the six-week long balloting process are announced on June 4. The French government is attempting to regain control of the Pacific territory of New Caledonia, High Commissioner Louis Le Franc said, as security forces [arrive in the archipelago]( to end a week of violent protests by pro-independence groups. Vietnam’s Communist Party approved the resignation of Politburo member Truong Thi Mai, making her the sixth official of the elite body to step down since 2022 [amid expanding corruption probes](. UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said he’ll cut UK national insurance for a third time after the summer if economic circumstances permit, as he [reiterated a long-term goal]( to eliminate the payroll tax altogether. Washington Dispatch The staff of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its supporters are breathing easier today after the Supreme Court [upheld]( the agency’s funding system. The organization has long been a target of business groups and conservatives who had hoped that a novel legal argument regarding the constitutionality of how it was established might sway the justices. Under the leadership of Rohit Chopra, the CFPB has waged an aggressive campaign over abuses in the mortgage-lending market and pushed banks to restrict overdraft fees. “It is now beyond dispute that arguments about the CFPB’s funding should provide no basis to challenge our work on behalf of the American people,” he said in a [post]( on X. Senator Elizabeth Warren, whose advocacy helped lead to the creation of the agency, called the ruling “really important,” while warning that it likely won't be “the last attack on the CFPB we’ll see from Wall Street, the banks, and their Republican allies.” One person to watch today: President Joe Biden will speak at the National Museum of African American History and Culture and later meet with leaders of historically Black sororities and fraternities, known as the Divine Nine. [Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter]( for more from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 1 and 5 p.m. ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television. Chart of the Day European policymakers are [banking on emissions-free hydrogen]( to meet some of the world’s most aggressive climate targets. That dream rests on converting polluting infrastructure to burn the gas, a fuel that’ll be many times more expensive than natural gas and that no one has figured out how to move safely and cheaply in bulk. Gas-dependent economies including Germany and the UK are among the biggest proponents of using hydrogen. But there’s no official definition of what makes a plant hydrogen-ready, opening the door for greenwashing. And Finally Djibouti’s location at the point where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden has made the tiny East African nation — an authoritarian former French colony of just one million people — a [strategic priority for major powers](. International investments in military hardware and intelligence gathering in the predominantly Islamic country have never looked more important. Iran-backed Houthi militants, who say they are targeting Israeli-linked cargo ships, have caused the most significant diversion of seaborne trade in the Red Sea in decades. A Djibouti beach at sunset last month. Photographer: Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi/Bloomberg Pop quiz (no cheating!) Criminal gangs have turned which European port into a key entry point of what’s become a cocaine superhighway? 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