Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced that he would resign from the cabinet if Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accepts a ceasefire and a deal for the release of hostages during today's talks in Qatar. "A DANGEROUS SURRENDER TO HAMAS"Ben-Gvir also called on Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is also far-right, to join him in a last-ditch effort to prevent the ceasefire agreement, which he described as "a dangerous surrender to Hamas." "OUR ONLY CHANCE TO PREVENT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CEASEFIRE"In a statement on his social media account, Ben-Gvir said, "This move is our only chance to prevent the implementation of the agreement and to stop Israel's surrender to Hamas after more than a year of bloody war in which over 400 Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip, and to ensure that their deaths were not in vain." SMOTRICH HAD ALSO STATED HIS OPPOSITION TO THE AGREEMENTBen-Gvir reiterated Smotrich's words, stating that Israel should continue its military operations in Gaza until Hamas completely surrenders, following the attack on October 7, 2023, which led to the war. Smotrich had also stated his opposition to the agreement in a statement yesterday but did not make any announcement about leaving Netanyahu's government.
|