Two extreme right If US President Joe Biden's proposal for a Gaza ceasefire is approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli ministers have vowed to resign and bring down the ruling coalition.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, minister of national security, and Bezalel Smotrich, minister of finance, said that they resisted making any agreements until Hamas was annihilated. In the event that Mr. Netanyahu approved the proposal, opposition leader Yair Lapid promised to assist the administration.
The prime minister explicitly said that unless Hamas's military and political capacities are eliminated and all hostages are freed, there would be no lasting ceasefire.
Subsequently, however, one of Mr. Netanyahu's advisors said that the proposal is something "we agreed to" and that Israel is not rejecting it, despite their disagreement that it is a "good deal".
The first of Mr. Biden's three proposals would be a six-week ceasefire during which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would evacuate Gaza's populous areas. All captives would ultimately be freed as a result of the agreement, which also called for a long-term "cessation of hostilities" and a significant rehabilitation plan for Gaza.
However, Mr. Smotrich said in a social media post on Saturday that he informed Mr. Netanyahu that he would "not be part of a government that agrees to the proposed outline as well as ends the war with no destroying Hamas along with bringing back all the hostages." "The deal... means the end of the war along with the abandonment of the goal to destroy Hamas," Mr. Ben-Gvir said. This is a risky agreement that gives the terrorists a win and jeopardizes Israel's security."
Rather than accept the suggestion, he pledged to "dissolve the government". In order to stay in power, Mr. Netanyahu's right-wing coalition needs support from a variety of groups in the parliament, such as Mr. Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, which has six members, and Mr. Smotrich's Religious Zionism party, which has seven seats.
Yair Lapid, a prominent opposition member in Israel, promptly extended his support to the beleaguered prime minister. With 24 seats, his Yesh Atid (There is a future) party is in power. "He has our safety net for a hostage deal if Ben-Gvir as well as Smotrich leave the government," the prime minister said.
A top foreign policy advisor said that several plan specifics needed to be ironed out and that there wouldn't be a lasting truce "until all our objectives are met" prior to the participation of Mr. Netanyahu's cabinet allies. However, Ophir Falk said that Mr. Biden's proposal was a "deal we agreed to - it's not a good deal but we dearly require the hostages released, all of them" in an interview alongside the Sunday Times newspaper.
Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv, demanding that the Israeli government approve Mr. Biden's suggested proposal, which sparked the controversy. In addition, a large number of protestors called for Mr. Netanyahu's resignation; some even told reporters they were afraid the prime minister would sink the plan. A organization advocating for the return of Israeli captives taken prisoner by Hamas has cautioned that doing so might jeopardize the lives of those detained in Gaza.
Protesters and police got into a fight, and the police deployed water cannons and mounted cops to disperse the masses. There have apparently been several arrests of protesters.
In recent months, anti-government activists and the relatives of the hostages have staged protests in Tel Aviv, demanding that Mr. Netanyahu resign or schedule an election in addition to a hostage settlement. Mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and the US encouraged Israel and Hamas to "finalize" Mr. Biden's planned agreement in a joint statement on Saturday.
According to officials, "as mediators in the ongoing discussions to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages as well as detainees" , the "call on both Hamas and Israel to finalise an understanding embodying the principles outlined by President Joe Biden" .
Additionally endorsing the concept, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters that his government could "flood Gaza with far more aid" should Hamas agree to the ceasefire proposal. A prominent Hamas lawmaker had already informed the BBC that the group "will go for this deal" if Israel complies. The office of Mr. Netanyahu maintained that Israel's "conditions for ending the war have not changed" in a statement after Mr. Biden's announcement of the proposal.
It defined them as "the destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities, facilitating the liberation of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel" .
Israel will "continue to insist these conditions are met" prior to consenting to an ongoing truce, the statement said. But the remarks seemed to be sufficiently ambiguous to allow Mr. Netanyahu to claim that his goals had been met. The "total victory" that Mr. Netanyahu's staff has consistently emphasized as a primary goal for the Gaza War was not mentioned.
The prime minister may be able to deny charges that the agreement gives Hamas significant concessions if this point is left out. Using social media on Sunday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that he would "full support" Mr. Netanyahu's administration "for a deal which will see the release of the hostages". "It is our essential obligation to bring them home within the foundation of a deal that preserves the security interests of the State of Israel," he said.
In other news, there were allegations of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza's southern metropolis near Egypt's border, as violence continued on Saturday in Rafah. The northern Palestinian city of Gaza City also reported gunfire and shelling. The health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, reports that since the fighting began, more than 36,000 people have died in Gaza. On October 7, 2023, militants from Hamas launched an unprecedented assault on Israel, killing over 1,200 people and capturing 252 more as prisoners back in Gaza. This marked the start of the conflict.
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