According to media reports, right-wing extremist Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has announced his resignation in protest against the ceasefire agreement with the Islamist Hamas. This means that his party Otzma Yehudit, which holds six of the 120 seats in the Knesset, is also leaving the governing coalition, as several Israeli media reported.
However, Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing religious government will not lose its majority in parliament. It still has a narrow majority of 62 of the 120 seats in the Knesset.
She would only lose this if the also right-wing extremist Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich joins Ben-Gvir and leaves the government with his party. The party has seven mandates.
The opposition assured a ‘safety net’.
In this case, however, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid had promised the head of government a “safety net” in parliament so he could implement the ceasefire with Hamas.
As part of this agreement, the first step is to release 33 of the total 98 hostages held by Hamas within six weeks. In return, Israel must release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Ben-Gvir criticized the hostage deal
Ben-Gvir had sharply criticized the agreement because it provided for the release of convicted murderers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Minister of Police warned that it is expected that they will commit further attacks in the future.
Ben-Gvir had said he could return to government if Israel resumed the war against Hamas. This is considered a possibility after the conclusion of the first phase of the three-phase agreement if there is no agreement on a continuation.
Source: Krone
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