Israeli minister Smotrich threatens to 'bring down' Netanyahu’s coalition over Gaza ceasefire

Hawkish Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to bring down prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition if the besieged Gaza Strip is not occupied.  

Speaking with Army Radio, the far-right minister said that Israel “must occupy Gaza and create a temporary military government because there is no other way to defeat Hamas.”

“I will bring down the government if it does not return to fighting in a way that [leads to us] taking over the entire Gaza Strip and governing it,” the minister added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Smotrich lashed out at Israeli war minister Herzi Halevi for being “weak in strategy.”

“If I were the prime minister, I would tell the chief of staff, ‘This is my policy; if you don’t execute it, go home,” he emphasized

He also insisted that Israel take over the provision of humanitarian aid in the strip.

Smotrich recently described the ceasefire deal with Palestinian resistance groups as "dangerous" for the occupying regime. 

Itamar Ben-Gvir and some other ministers have already resigned from Netanyahu’s ruling coalition over the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The ministers had in past statements stressed that Israel must have a plan to conquer or permanently occupy the besieged Palestinian territory.

Israel’s minister Ben-Gvir threatens to quit if ceasefire deal approved

Israel

Ben-Gvir and his “Jewish-power” party announced on Sunday that they are leaving the coalition “in light of the approval of the reckless agreement with the Hamas.”

The party called the ceasefire agreement a “capitulation to Hamas” and the renunciation of what they called the Israeli military's achievements since the start of the aggression against Gaza. 

The departure of ministers, especially Ben-Gvir and possibly Smotrich, makes Netanyahu’s coalition significantly weaker.

In a video posted on X, Ben-Gvir admitted that he and Smotrich used their political influence to prevent a ceasefire agreement from moving forward. 

Ben-Gvir also said humanitarian aid and fuel, electricity, and water must be “completely stopped” from entering the blockaded Palestinian region.

He has been convicted of incitement to racism, destroying property, possessing a “terror” organization’s propaganda material, and supporting a terrorist organization – the Israeli group Kahane Chai, which he joined when he was 16.

Israel was forced to accept a ceasefire deal with Hamas on Wednesday. The agreement took effect on Sunday 06:30 GMT.

Gaza ceasefire agreement begins

An overwhelming majority of the global population are of the view that the Palestinians are the true winners of this illegal genocidal war, with the Israelis irrefutably defeated.

Israel launched its brutal Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023, after Hamas-led resistance groups carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Since then, the occupying regime has killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza. 

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