Two far-right Israeli ministers have threatened to resign and collapse Benjamin Netanyahu’s already precarious government if it accepts the Gaza ceasefire agreement proposal presented by Joe Biden on Friday.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said they did not want Israel to reach a deal before Hamas was totally destroyed.
But in a surprise turn, opposition leader Yair Lapid said he would back the government if Netanyahu wanted to go ahead with the plan.
Biden unveiled the three-part proposal, which, if signed by Hamas and Israel, would begin with a six-week ceasefire and the full withdrawal of the IDF from populated areas of the Gaza Strip.
The deal would also provide for the final release of all hostages Hamas took on Oct. 7, a permanent “cessation of hostilities” and a full reconstruction of Gaza, much of which has been destroyed by the war.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (pictured, left) and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (pictured, right) said they did not want Israel to accept a deal.
Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) has apparently poured cold water on Biden’s plan
Joe Biden (pictured) unveiled the proposals on Friday.
The deal infuriated Smotrich, who in April called for the “total annihilation” of the Gaza Strip, saying in a post for X: “I will not be part of a government that accepts the proposed scheme and ends the war without destroying Hamas.” “. and return all the kidnapped people.
“We will not accept the end of the war before the destruction of Hamas, nor serious damage to the achievements of the war so far through the withdrawal of the IDF and the return of Gazans to the northern Gaza Strip, nor to the total liberation of terrorists who will return, God forbid, to murder Jews.
“We demand the continuation of fighting until the destruction of Hamas and the return of all abductees, the creation of a completely different security reality in Gaza and Lebanon, the return of all residents to their homes in the north and south and a massive investment in the accelerated development of these areas of the country.’
Ben-Gvir followed suit, calling the agreement “a victory for terrorism.”
He said in X: ‘This is a promiscuous agreement, which is a victory for terrorism and a danger to the security of the State of Israel. Accepting such an agreement is not absolute victory, but absolute defeat.
Israeli mounted police attempt to disperse a demonstration by relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza.
A woman dressed in an Israeli national flag holds a mock torch during a demonstration by relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Palestinian Hamas militants.
‘We will not allow the war to end without the complete elimination of Hamas.
“If the prime minister implements the promiscuous agreement under the conditions published today, which mean the end of the war and the resignation of Hamas, Otzma Yehudit will dissolve the government.”
Meanwhile, Lapid said the two ministers’ threats to resign “neglect national security, the hostages and the residents of the north and south.”
‘This is the worst and most promiscuous government in the history of the country. For them here there will be an eternal war, zero responsibility, zero management, a complete failure,’ he stated in X.
He also told Netanyahu that he had “our safety net for a hostage deal if Ben-Gvir and Smotrich leave the government.”
As Netanyahu faces an internal battle for control of his government and his country, as thousands take to the streets to protest the Israeli leader for his failure to bring hostages home, he is also forced to defend himself more and more detractors on the world stage.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric said Saturday that his country would join South Africa in its case before the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of “genocide” in the war against Hamas.
Smoke rises near a makeshift camp for displaced Palestinians in the Tel al-Sultan area of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, May 30, 2024.
Smoke rises after Israeli bombing in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on May 31, 2024.
Palestinians observe the destruction following an Israeli attack where displaced people were staying in Rafah, Gaza Strip.
In his speech before the National Congress, Boric denounced the “catastrophic humanitarian situation” in Gaza and called for “a firm response from the international community.”
‘Chile will become part of and support the case that South Africa presented against Israel before the International Court of Justice in The Hague,’ Boric stated.
The ICJ is considering the South African case, but in the meantime has taken “preliminary measures” ordering Israel to do everything possible to prevent acts of genocide during its campaign against Hamas.
Last month, the U.N.’s top court ordered Israel to halt military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where displaced Palestinians are seeking safety from Israel’s military offensive.
Before the Rafah offensive began, the United Nations said up to 1.4 million people were taking refuge in the city.
Since then, a million people have fled the area, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
Chile has recognized Palestine as a state since 2011, and Boric has previously said the war in Gaza “has no justification” and is “unacceptable.”
The Gaza war was sparked by the unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7, which killed 1,189 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
The militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 who the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 36,379 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s Health Ministry.