AhlulBayt News Agency: Two far-right Israeli ministers have threatened to quit the ruling coalition if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agrees to a Gaza ceasefire deal.
The Hebrew-language Zionist newspaper Ma'ariv reported on Tuesday night that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich echoed the call of Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir against any deal with the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas.
Smotrich has threatened to resign if the war stops completely, demanding Netanyahu promise to keep Gaza onslaught going after the prisoner exchange agreement is implemented.
According to the report, Smotrich emphasized that the acceptance of the agreement means surrender to Hamas, warning that his party will leave the cabinet if deal is secured.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ben-Gvir sparked a controversy after he urged his cabinet colleagues, including Smotrich to reject the cease-fire deal with Hamas. He also outraged the families of hostages held in Gaza by saying that he had repeatedly blocked cease-fire deals.
“I call on my colleague, [Finance] Minister Bezalel Smotrich, to join forces with me, and together we’ll work against the nascent deal,” the far-right minister said on X, adding that “In the last year, using our political power, we managed to prevent this deal from going ahead, time after time.”
Later he posted a video message on social media and asked Smotrich to stand by him and resign from the cabinet "if the ceasefire agreement, which is tantamount to surrender to Hamas, is finalized".
"Let's go to Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) and announce to him that if he signs this agreement, we will resign from the cabinet," the minister, who is known for his controversial moves against Palestinians and their religious sanctities, told Smotrich.
The stance of the two ministers is, however, contrary to opposition leader Yair Lapid who has pledged to back Netanyahu’s truce plan.
A latest survey conducted in the occupied territories also show that the majority of Israelis support a comprehensive agreement to release all prisoners in exchange for an end to the Gaza war.
According to IRNA citing media sources on Wednesday, the survey called "Voice of Israel Data" conducted monthly by an NGO found that 57.5 percent of the respondents favored the ceasefire deal.
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The Hebrew-language Zionist newspaper Ma'ariv reported on Tuesday night that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich echoed the call of Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir against any deal with the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas.
Smotrich has threatened to resign if the war stops completely, demanding Netanyahu promise to keep Gaza onslaught going after the prisoner exchange agreement is implemented.
According to the report, Smotrich emphasized that the acceptance of the agreement means surrender to Hamas, warning that his party will leave the cabinet if deal is secured.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ben-Gvir sparked a controversy after he urged his cabinet colleagues, including Smotrich to reject the cease-fire deal with Hamas. He also outraged the families of hostages held in Gaza by saying that he had repeatedly blocked cease-fire deals.
“I call on my colleague, [Finance] Minister Bezalel Smotrich, to join forces with me, and together we’ll work against the nascent deal,” the far-right minister said on X, adding that “In the last year, using our political power, we managed to prevent this deal from going ahead, time after time.”
Later he posted a video message on social media and asked Smotrich to stand by him and resign from the cabinet "if the ceasefire agreement, which is tantamount to surrender to Hamas, is finalized".
"Let's go to Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) and announce to him that if he signs this agreement, we will resign from the cabinet," the minister, who is known for his controversial moves against Palestinians and their religious sanctities, told Smotrich.
The stance of the two ministers is, however, contrary to opposition leader Yair Lapid who has pledged to back Netanyahu’s truce plan.
A latest survey conducted in the occupied territories also show that the majority of Israelis support a comprehensive agreement to release all prisoners in exchange for an end to the Gaza war.
According to IRNA citing media sources on Wednesday, the survey called "Voice of Israel Data" conducted monthly by an NGO found that 57.5 percent of the respondents favored the ceasefire deal.
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