Itamar Ben-Gvir and his far-right party threaten to leave government over Gaza ceasefire deal.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has threatened to withdraw from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet if he approves a ceasefire deal with Hamas after more than 460 days of war in Gaza.
Ben-Gvir slammed the agreement on Thursday evening and said his ultra-nationalist Otzma Yehudit party – also known as the Jewish Power Party – would quit the government if the ceasefire went through.
“If this irresponsible agreement is approved and implemented, the Jewish Power Party will not be part of the government and will leave it,” he said.
Ben-Gvir also said humanitarian aid and fuel, electricity and water must be “completely stopped” from entering the war-torn Palestinian enclave in order to force the release of the captives that remain held by Hamas.
“Only then will Hamas release our hostages without jeopardising Israel’s security,” he said.
He also called for fellow Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the head of the Religious Zionist Party and another critic of the ceasefire, to quit the cabinet if the ceasefire is approved.
If both parties withdraw their support, Netanyahu’s coalition government would lose its majority in the Knesset.
Opposition parties, however, have promised to support the prime minister as long as the ceasefire deal moves forward, according to Israeli media.
Despite his strong words against the ceasefire deal, Ben-Gvir told reporters he does not intend to “overthrow” Netanyahu’s government and will consider returning if the ceasefire fails.
Netanyahu’s Likud party said in a statement that “whoever dismantles a right-wing government will forever be in disgrace”.
Likud also defended the ceasefire and said it would ” maximise the number of live hostages” released while guaranteeing “Israel’s security for generations to come”.
Israel has killed at least 46,788 people in Gaza since October 2023 and is accused of committing genocide in the Strip in a case brought by South Africa at the International Criminal Court.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar brokered the ceasefire deal, and the first phase is set to run for six weeks.
Negotiations for the second and third phases are still under way, although Israel has not ruled out resuming hostilities.
