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Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Thursday evening that he would withdraw his Jewish Power party from Benjamin Netanyahu’s government if it implemented the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Mediators said on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a multi-stage agreement to stop the 15-month-old war and release the 98 hostages still being held in Gaza.
But Ben Gvir and his ultra-nationalist ally, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, repeatedly threatened to withdraw from Netanyahu’s government if it accepted an agreement that would end the war.
Ben Gvir repeated this threat on Thursday, but said his party may return to government if the war resumes later.
Netanyahu’s government is scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss approving a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, according to an Israeli official, after the prime minister previously postponed the meeting, accusing Hamas of reneging on the agreement.
The departure of the Jewish Power Party would give Netanyahu’s coalition a two-seat majority in the Israeli parliament.
It will also increase pressure on Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party to withdraw from Netanyahu’s government, a move that is likely to cost the veteran prime minister his majority.
This is a developing story