Netanyahu expects Ben Gvir to ditch government if ceasefire deal inked with Hamas — report

By Sam Sokol 12 July 2025, 9:30 pm

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Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. 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 sits next to senior police officers at event inaugurating volunteer police unit at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron on July 9, 2025. (Israel Police)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expects National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party to bolt the government if another ceasefire deal is signed with Hamas, national broadcaster Kan reports.

According to Kan, in an effort to maintain his coalition’s stability in the face of a possible Ben Gvir defection, Netanyahu is currently working to convince Finance Minister and Religious Zionism party chief Bezalel Smotrich that a deal would not leave Hamas armed and in power in Gaza.

Ben Gvir took his Otzma Yehudit party out of the government in January to protest the last ceasefire with Hamas. He returned in March following the resumption of hostilities.