Israel’s Ben-Gvir threatens to topple government over any ‘reckless’ deal with Hamas

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened Tuesday to bring down the government if a "reckless" deal is reached with the Hamas group.

"A reckless deal = the dismantlement of the [Israeli] government," Ben-Gvir wrote his X account.

The current coalition government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has 64 lawmakers in the 120-seat Knesset (Israel’s parliament). It needs the support of at least 61 lawmakers to pass any deal in the Knesset.

Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power Party has 14 lawmakers in the Knesset, meaning he could easily topple the government.

Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich oppose any cease-fire deal with Hamas.

The White House said Monday that negotiators seeking to broker a deal for the release of additional hostages held by Hamas have developed a “framework” that could lead to an eventual deal.

According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the proposal includes the release of 35 Israeli hostages in return for a 6-week cease-fire in Gaza and the release of thousands of Palestinian detainees.

On Tuesday, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh confirmed that his group is studying a proposal for a cease-fire deal with Israel.

Hamas is believed to be holding nearly 136 Israelis following its cross-border attack on Oct. 7.

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, killing at least 26,751 Palestinians and injuring 65,636. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

*Writing by Ahmed Asma