Israel's Ben-Gvir threatens to quit Netanyahu govt over US-backed Gaza deal

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has said he would resign from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government if it ratifies the ceasefire deal in Gaza, a decision aimed to scuttle the deal announced by US and Qatar.

Israeli media outlets reported earlier that the cabinet was expected to vote to ratify the agreement on Friday, but there has been no confirmation from the prime minister's office.

"The deal that is taking shape is a reckless deal," Ben-Gvir said late on Thursday in a televised statement, saying it would "erase the achievements of the war" by releasing hundreds of Palestinian resistance fighters and withdrawing from strategic areas in Gaza, leaving Hamas undefeated.

"If this irresponsible deal is approved and implemented, we the members of Jewish Power will submit letters of resignation to the prime minister," he said, adding that he would, nonetheless, not seek to bring down the government.

Even if Ben-Gvir ’s party leaves the government, it does not rob Netanyahu of a parliamentary majority and force early elections. It also would not stop a ceasefire deal if the plan comes to a Cabinet vote for approval, which could happen as early as Friday.

The threat to quit came at the end of a day that saw ratification of the deal held up by Netanyahu's office which falsely claimed that Hamas was reneging on parts of the agreement reached with Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

However, US officials said they believed the issue had been ironed out and the ceasefire would begin on Sunday, as planned.

Ben-Gvir this week urged notorious Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has described the deal as a "catastrophe," to join him in a last-ditch attempt to prevent a ceasefire deal, which he described as a dangerous capitulation to Hamas.

Smotrich's extremist Religious Zionism party repeated its opposition on Thursday, threatening to quit the government if it did not go back to war to defeat Hamas after the first six-week phase of the ceasefire was completed.

An illegal settler leader, Ben Gvir has become one of Israel's most powerful Zionist politicians in Israel, reflecting a dangerous far-right shift in the Israeli electorate that brought his religious, extremist ideology into the mainstream and diminished hopes for Palestine's independence.

Hostage families

The political tensions echo anger from some hostage families, who believe their own relatives risk being abandoned in Gaza and who have held a series of protests against the deal.

Under the multi-phase agreement, 33 hostages will be released in the first stage before negotiations begin to agree on the release of the remaining 65 and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Some of the families believe the second stage will not be agreed.

"This deal leaves dozens of hostages behind in Gaza. It also sets the stage for the next massacre and future kidnappings of Israelis," the Tivka Forum of Hostages' Families said in a statement.

Israel currently holds more than 10,300 Palestinian prisoners, while it is estimated that nearly 100 Israelis are detained in Gaza. Hamas says many Israeli captives have been killed in indiscriminate Israeli air strikes.

In May 2024, US President Joe Biden announced that Israel had offered a "comprehensive new proposal" that promised a "roadmap to an enduring ceasefire and the release of all hostages."

Back-to-back efforts were repeatedly derailed due to new conditions imposed by Israel's Netanyahu.