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Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Thursday night that he would withdraw his Jewish Power party from Benjamin Netanyahu’s government if it implements a Gaza ceasefire agreement.
US-led mediators said on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had agreed on a multi-phase deal end the 15-month war and free the 98 hostages still held by the Palestinian militant group in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s cabinet is due to meet on Friday to approve the deal, which Ben-Gvir described as “reckless” and a “reward to Hamas” that he said his party could not support.
“(This agreement) will bring an end to the war, before Hamas is defeated and before we achieve the goals of the war,” Ben-Gvir told a news conference.
“When we see and hear cheers and dancing in Gaza, and cheers in the (occupied West Bank) we understand which side has surrendered in this deal.”
However, Ben-Gvir left open the possibility of rejoining Netanyahu’s coalition if the war is “renewed” with the goal of a “decisive” defeat of Hamas, adding that he would not work to oust the longtime prime minister if he were in the opposition.
In response, Netanyahu’s Likud party released a statement saying that “whoever dismantles the right-wing government will be remembered in disgrace throughout history.”
It added that the agreement would allow Israel to renew its war with Hamas “with US guarantees”.
In a statement released early Friday morning, the prime minister’s office said “agreements have been reached on a deal to release the hostages.”
Ben-Gvir and his ultra-nationalist ally, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have repeatedly threatened to quit Netanyahu’s government if he accepts a deal ending the war.
The departure of Jewish Power would leave the prime minister’s coalition with a majority of two seats in the Israeli parliament. It would also increase pressure on Smotrich’s party of religious Zionism to follow suit and withdraw.
Ben-Gvir called on parliamentarians from Religious Zionism and Likud to “fulfill what you have said over the past year” and oppose the deal.
Although Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are not considered to have enough support in the cabinet to torpedo the deal if Netanyahu puts it to a vote, if both withdraw their far-right parties from the government, it would lose its parliamentary majority.
Israel’s political system does not prohibit minority governments, and opposition parties have said they are ready to support Netanyahu’s coalition if necessary.
But the loss of his two allies would shake Netanyahu’s power and could lead to early elections.
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said earlier Thursday that he was “confident” after talks with negotiators that the Gaza ceasefire would go into effect as planned on Sunday, a day before Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
The multi-phase deal, based on a plan first outlined by US President Joe Biden last year, includes an initial 42-day truce during which 33 hostages, including children, women, the sick and the elderly, would be released at intervals.
In exchange, Palestinians would be released from Israeli prisons, far more aid would go to Gaza, and there would be a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave.
By the 16th day of the truce, Israel and Hamas are scheduled to begin negotiations on the second phase of the agreement, which would include the release of the remaining living hostages, a full Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war.
The final phase would involve the return of all remaining bodies of the dead hostages and the reconstruction of Gaza.
The Gaza war was triggered by a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, during which the group’s fighters killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials, and took 250 hostages.
Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that Palestinian officials say has killed more than 46,000 people and sparked a humanitarian disaster in the enclave.