Itamar Ben-Gvir Wikipedia)
Israel far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Strength) Party led by the controversial extremist figure Itamar Ben-Gvir has quit the coalition government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party. Its six Knesset members all announced their departures from the coalition, making good on Ben-Gvir’s pledge to do so should the government agree to the ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza, which went into effect Sunday morning.
This includes three government minister from Otzma Yehudit, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, and Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf.
However, Benjamín Netanyahu’s government still holds a majority of 62 seats in the 120 seat Knesset. This is because a few months ago Netanyahu succeeded in bringing the New Hope opposition party with four seats in the Knesset into the governing coalition. Their votes preserve Netanyahu’s majority. And the leader of the opposition in the Knesset pledged to not bring down the government during the ceasefire in order to ensure the safe return of the hostages.
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Itamar Ben-Gvir condemned the ceasefire deal asserting that it required Israel to give up too much; the release of roughly 1,500 terrorists it holds, including senior figure, and the withdrawal of the IDF’s (Israel Defense Forces) units from Gaza.
In return, only 33 of the remaining 98 hostages will be released in stages over the six-week ceasefire period. And this number includes the bodies of many believed to have been killed.
“With us, our word is our word, we will not agree to a reckless deal. My friends in Otzma Yehudit and I submitted our resignation letters from the government and the coalition this morning,” said Itamar Ben-Gvir, expressing pride in his decision to go through with his withdrawal from the coalition.
Otzma Yehudit released an official statement on the matter saying, “The reckless approval of an agreement with the Hamas terror organization, which includes releasing hundreds of murderers with the blood of men, women, and children on their hands—some to Jerusalem and the West Bank—represents a disgraceful surrender.”
The Party also asserted that the ceasefire agreement is a slap in the face to the Israeli military saying, “This deal forfeits the IDF’s hard-won achievements in the war, involves withdrawing forces from Gaza, and halts the fighting in a manner that capitulates to Hamas.”
Itamar Ben-Gvir and his Otzma Yehudit Party will likely not be missed by the members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Ben-Gvir was a thorn in their side ever since the government was formed a little over two years ago. Itamar Ben-Gvir’s extreme beliefs and comments were not shared by the government.
