JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened on Tuesday to quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government if he agrees to a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal being negotiated at talks in Qatar.
Ben-Gvir, whose departure would not bring down Netanyahu’s government, urged Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to join 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 on Monday that he objects to the deal but did not threaten to bolt Netanyahu’s coalition. A majority of ministers are expected to back the phased ceasefire deal, which details a halt to fighting and the release of hostages.
Ben-Gvir echoed remarks by Smotrich, who said on Monday Israel should keep up its military campaign in Gaza until the complete surrender of Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose Oct. 7 2023 attack caused the war.
About 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’ 2023 assault on Israel and more than 250 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the enclave laid to waste and most its population displaced.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have been mediating a ceasefire deal and agreements could be imminent, officials have said.
Some hostage families oppose the deal because they fear that the phased deal taking shape will see only some of the remaining 98 hostages freed and others left behind.
Successive surveys have shown broad support among the Israeli public for such a deal.
(Reporting by Maayan Lubell, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
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