Israeli far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, today threatened to quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition if he agrees to a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner release deal being negotiated at talks in Qatar, Reuters reports.
Ben-Gvir, whose departure would not bring down Netanyahu’s government, urged Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is said to be joining him in a last-ditch attempt to prevent a ceasefire deal, which he described as a dangerous capitulation to Hamas.
“This move is our only chance to prevent [the deal’s] execution, and prevent Israel’s surrender to Hamas, after more than a year of bloody war, in which more than 400 IDF (Israel Defence Forces) soldiers fell in the Gaza Strip, and to ensure that their deaths are not in vain,” Ben-Gvir said on X.
Smotrich said yesterday that he objects to the deal but did not threaten to quit Netanyahu’s coalition.
Ben-Gvir echoed remarks by Smotrich, who said on Monday Israel should keep up its military campaign in Gaza until the complete surrender of Hamas.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have been mediating a ceasefire deal and agreements could be imminent, officials have said.
The families of some of the captives oppose the deal because they fear that the phased deal taking shape will see only some of the remaining 98 captives freed and others left behind.
Successive surveys have shown broad support among the Israeli public for such a deal.
Hamas: Differences remain over Israel’s withdrawal from Philadelphi and ending the war