Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir . File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on Thursday (January 16, 2025) that he and his party colleagues would quit the cabinet if it approved a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, though they would not leave the country’s ruling coalition.

“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 at a press conference late Thursday evening, while keeping open the possibility of reversing course if the ceasefire collapsed.

“If the war against Hamas resumes, with intensity, in order to achieve the objectives of the war that have not been achieved, we will return to the government.”

Ben Gvir sits on the Israeli cabinet alongside two fellow Jewish Power MPs, and contributes six members, including himself, to Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition of 68 lawmakers in the Knesset.

But even as he threatened to quit the cabinet, he said his party “will not overthrow Netanyahu”.

Ben Gvir also called on far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the Religious Zionism party, to quit.

Smotrich had said earlier in the day that the ceasefire deal was “dangerous” for Israel’s security.

Following Ben Gvir’s remarks, Netanyahu’s Likud party said in a statement: “Whoever dismantles a right-wing government will forever be in disgrace.”

The ceasefire agreement, it added, would allow Israel “to maximize the number of live hostages that will be released… (and) to achieve security successes that will guarantee Israel’s security for generations to come”.

Both Ben Gvir and Smotrich have repeatedly called for continuing the Gaza war, and the former has even said that he repeatedly blocked previous attempts to reach a ceasefire.

The deal agreed on Wednesday and mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States initially provides for the release of 33 hostages abducted during Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

But Ben Gvir set out an alternative approach on Thursday.

“For the release of the hostages, humanitarian aid sent to Gaza must be completely stopped,” he said, adding “stop the transfer of fuel, electricity and water”.

“Only then will Hamas release our hostages without jeopardising Israel’s security.”

Israel is currently facing a case at the International Court of Justice, brought by South Africa, accusing it of committing “genocide” in the Gaza Strip. Israel vehemently denies the accusation.

Rights groups have pointed to similar statements by figures such as former defence minister Yoav Gallant, himself wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, as potential evidence of genocidal intent.

Jerusalem:

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.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)