Ben Gvir threatens to withdraw his party from coalition if Netanyahu agrees to Lebanon ceasefire

Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir speaks during a ceremony at the National Police Academy in Beit Shemesh, September 23, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir speaks during a ceremony at the National Police Academy in Beit Shemesh, September 23, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatens to withdraw his Otzma Yehudit party from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government if he agrees to a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Following a meeting with lawmakers from his far-right party, Ben Gvir warns the prime minister that acceding to a temporary deal would cause him to cease cooperating with the rest of the coalition and “if the temporary ceasefire becomes permanent we will resign from the government.”

“The most basic and understandable thing is that when your enemy is on his knees, you do not allow him to recover, but work to defeat him,” Ben Gvir states, arguing that pausing the fighting “conveys weakness, endangers the security of your citizens, and proves that you do not intend to win.”

Arguing that his party “will not abandon the residents of the north,” Ben Gvir states that “every day that this ceasefire is in effect and Israel does not fight in the north, Otzma Yehudit is not committed to the coalition.”

“If the temporary ceasefire becomes permanent…all the Otzma Yehudit ministers and MKs will resign from the government and the coalition.”

Most Popular