[News] Smotrich, Ben-Gvir to dismantle government if aggression on Gaza stops

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/smotrich-ben-gvir-to-dismantle-government-if-aggression-on-g>
Smotrich, Ben-Gvir to dismantle government if aggression on Gaza stops
Al Mayadeen English
November 29, 2023
------------------------------

Israeli media confirm that Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are threatening to dismantle Benjamin
Netanyahu's government and withdraw from it if he announces a ceasefire in
the Gaza Strip.
[image: 4028b0ab-c229-487e-ab57-927f6aff90b5.jpg]

   - Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (center) and Finance Minister
   Bezalel Smotrich (left) attend the swearing-in ceremony for the Israeli
   parliament, at the Knesset, in occupied al-Quds, on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022.
   (AP)

Israeli media reported that Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-minister-smotrich-admits-with-pain-bowed-head:-we-fa>
are allegedly considering the possibility of dismantling Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and withdrawing from it if he
declares a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

This comes in light of the announcement to extend the truce agreement
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/brief-truce-extension-creates-short-term-benefits-for-both-s>
between the Israeli occupation forces and the Palestinian resistance for
the fifth consecutive day. The extension includes the release of an
additional batch of Israeli prisoners in exchange for the liberation of
Palestinian prisoners.
Ben Gvir threatens: Stopping the war means dissolving the government

The Israeli Wallah website confirmed that Ben Gvir threatened on Tuesday
that "ending the war equates to dissolving the government," following
discussions about extending the ceasefire in exchange for the release of
additional Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners.

Officials from the "Otzma Yehudit" party, also known as Jewish Power,
asserted that "if another deal is proposed to the government resulting in
the cessation of the war, all six members of the Knesset in the party will
exit the coalition."

The words of Ben Gvir and his party reflect a general atmosphere of
frustration and disappointment prevailing among the "hawks" in Israeli
politics. They have been banking on a broad military operation in the
sector since October 7th to restore the reputation of the occupation army
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel--lost-control--on-the-way-to-losing-its-war-on-gaza>
and its security system after the success of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. This
is without taking into consideration the various opinions shared by experts
about the difficulty of achieving any operation in Gaza for its goals,
including the release of prisoners and ending the resistance force.

In turn, former head of the Israeli National Security Council, Giora
Eiland, indicated that "if Israel accepts a ceasefire, it means that the
war has ended without eliminating Hamas".

Eiland stated on Channel 12 that "Hamas has complete control over Gaza
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/80--of-gaza-remains-untouched-by-iof--hamdan>.
Even though they may have lost some control above ground, it's limited to
certain areas in the city of Gaza, not the entire city. They maintain full
control underground and in the tunnels".

The former Israeli official explained, "Hamas's control extends beyond the
military aspect. It is evident in negotiations, communication capabilities,
and, most importantly, their complete influence over the population. They
fulfill the population's needs for food, fuel, cooking gas, and other
essentials."
Gallant: They are obligated to remain inside the Gaza Strip until the
mission is completed

Contrarily, Security Minister Yoav Gallant emphasized that the occupation
army is obliged to remain in Gaza until it fulfills its mission.

As for the former head of AMAN, Reserve Major General Tamir Hayman affirmed
in a media interview that "we must acknowledge that we are still a long way
from completing the mission".

He continued: "We are still under attack by Hamas, targeting the heart of
Israeli society. It is directing all its efforts to dismantle, undermine,
and create great frustration among us, and the same attack is still
ongoing... and it is currently being carried out through influence and
awareness."

Gallant added, "All this show of strength during the release of the
kidnapped individuals indicates that we are still very far from a decisive
resolution. Even in the northern part of the strip, we destroyed less than
half of the brigades present there, and we did not come close to the senior
leaders. That said, Hamas still has functional and operating
infrastructure, and this was displayed for embarrassment, creating
confusion, and eliciting all those emotions that we are witnessing now."
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20231128/dfdee94a/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 4028b0ab-c229-487e-ab57-927f6aff90b5.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 74897 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20231128/dfdee94a/attachment-0001.jpg>