Ministers to the right and left of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued dueling threats on Tuesday to leave the government over the possibly impending decision of whether or not to move forward with a deal with Hamas to release some of the hostages being held in Gaza.
The statements came after US officials said on Monday that new progress had been made in negotiations for a ‘humanitarian’ deal to release between 20 to 40 hostages, in which Israel reportedly would suspend its plans to enter Rafah, the last major Hamas stronghold that the IDF has yet to attack, as well as enable Gazans to return to Gaza City and release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The far-right flank of Israel’s government, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir pressed Netanyahu to shun the deal and move forward with an invasion of Rafah and threatened to leave the government if the prime minister decided otherwise.
In a video statement following a closed-door meeting with Netanyahu on Tuesday afternoon, Ben-Gvir said that the prime minister had promised that Israel would invade Rafah, that the war would not end, and that there will not be a “reckless” deal.
He added that he believed that Netanyahu “understands what the consequences are if these things do not happen,” hinting that he would leave the government if such a deal was made.
Smotrich, in a press conference, demanded that Netanyahu not wave a “white flag” of surrender by agreeing to the Egyptian-brokered deal. He said that Israel was facing a fork in the road with “no middle”, in which it needed to choose between “decisive victory” and “defeat in the war and humiliation,” and said that he was willing to pay a “political price” if Netanyahu decided to move forward with the deal. He added that the government did not have a “right to exist” if it went through with the hostage deal as it stood.
Gadi Eisenkot responded
In response to both ministers, National Unity Minister-without-portfolio Gadi Eisenkot issued a rare statement warning that he would not be a partner in a government that makes decisions based on “political considerations”.
“The cabinet defined the goals of the war six months ago,” Eisenkot said in a written statement that he also posted on Facebook. “In the past day, two cabinet members have been using political threats to commit extortion. This is a serious phenomenon that harms Israel’s national security. I will only be a partner in a government that makes decisions based on the national interests of the State of Israel, and not on political considerations.”
During a meeting earlier on Tuesday with forums of hostage families and families of fallen soldiers who are affiliated with the right and support invading Rafah, Netanyahu pledged that Israel would invade the city with or without a deal.
“The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there – with or without a deal, in order to achieve the total victory,” Netanyahu said.
According to the press statement of the Prime Minister’s Office, “The prime minister listened to their call to continue achieving the goals of the war and to withstand the international pressure.”
The two forums that met with the prime minister were the Hope Forum, which includes families of hostages, and the Heroism Forum, which includes families of fallen soldiers. Both are affiliated with the right and have largely called to increase military pressure in Gaza. These are separate from the larger Hostage and Missing Families Forum, which has taken an increasingly critical stand against the government.
Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid said in response to Ben-Gvir, “The state of Israel has become hostage to people who are crazy and irresponsible. This cannot continue. A minister with a criminal record stands in the prime minister’s office and threatens the prime minister about the consequences if he does not do as he is told. Ben-Gvir is saying to the whole world and the whole region that Netanyahu is weak and working for him. It is unbelievable that he was not fired on the spot.”
The coalition currently includes 72 Knesset members. Ben-Gvir and Smotrich together have 14 seats, and without them the coalition will be left with 58 Knesset members, and will no longer have a majority in the 120-member Knesset.
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