Israel far-right minister Ben Gvir to quit cabinet if Gaza deal is approved

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Thursday that he and his party colleagues would quit the cabinet if it approved a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, though they would not leave the country’s ruling coalition.

“If this irresponsible agreement is approved and implemented, the Jewish Power party will not be part of the government and will leave it,” he said at a press conference late Thursday evening, while keeping open the possibility of reversing course if the ceasefire collapsed.

“If the war against Hamas resumes, with intensity, in order to achieve the objectives of the war that have not been achieved, we will return to the government.”

Ben Gvir sits on the Israeli cabinet alongside two fellow Jewish Power MPs, and contributes six members, including himself, to Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition of 68 lawmakers in the Knesset.

But even as he threatened to quit the cabinet, he said his party “will not overthrow Netanyahu”.

Ben Gvir also called on far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the Religious Zionism party, to quit.

Smotrich had said earlier in the day that the ceasefire deal was “dangerous” for Israel’s security.

Following Ben Gvir’s remarks, Netanyahu’s Likud party said in a statement: “Whoever dismantles a right-wing government will forever be in disgrace.”

The ceasefire agreement, it added, would allow Israel “to maximize the number of live hostages that will be released… (and) to achieve security successes that will guarantee Israel’s security for generations to come”.

Both Ben Gvir and Smotrich have repeatedly called for continuing the Gaza war, and the former has even said that he repeatedly blocked previous attempts to reach a ceasefire.

The deal agreed on Wednesday and mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States initially provides for the release of 33 hostages abducted during Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

But Ben Gvir set out an alternative approach on Thursday.

“For the release of the hostages, humanitarian aid sent to Gaza must be completely stopped,” he said, adding “stop the transfer of fuel, electricity and water”.

“Only then will Hamas release our hostages without jeopardising Israel’s security.”

Israel is currently facing a case at the International Court of Justice, brought by South Africa, accusing it of committing “genocide” in the Gaza Strip. Israel vehemently denies the accusation.

Rights groups have pointed to similar statements by figures such as former defence minister Yoav Gallant, himself wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, as potential evidence of genocidal intent.