Ben Gvir Calls on Smotrich to Thwart Ceasefire and Prisoner Exchange Agreement

SadaNews - The head of the "Otzma Yehudit" party and Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, called today, Wednesday, on the head of the Religious Zionism party and Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, to oppose a potential agreement between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange.

Ben Gvir's call comes in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement early this morning that Israel has agreed to the "necessary conditions" for a 60-day ceasefire agreement, during which efforts will be made to permanently end the war.

Ben Gvir believes that both parties can prevent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from agreeing to the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement, according to Channel 12.

The channel added that Ben Gvir's proposal is also against the backdrop of speculations that have circulated in recent days that the head of the "National Camp" party, Benny Gantz, may join Netanyahu's government if Ben Gvir and Smotrich's parties withdraw from it in the event that Netanyahu agrees to the agreement.

However, in this case, the government would be supported by 61 Knesset members, and Netanyahu would fear dismantling the current coalition party bloc.

It is worth noting that Ben Gvir withdrew from the government following Netanyahu's approval of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in January of last year, then returned to the government after Israel resumed the war on Gaza on March 18.

At that time, Smotrich did not agree to withdraw from the government along with Ben Gvir in order to "threaten Netanyahu together," while Ben Gvir stated that "Otzma Yehudit alone does not have the ability to prevent the deal."

Ben Gvir told Smotrich that the withdrawal of both parties would not topple the government, but he pointed out that "in the past year, with our strength, we succeeded in preventing the implementation of the deal."

Opposition leader Yair Lapid responded by addressing Netanyahu, saying, "Instead of 13 fingers (Knesset members) from Ben Gvir and Smotrich, you have 23 fingers (the number of Knesset members from the "Yesh Atid" party) as a safety net for a hostage deal. They must all be brought home now."

Military analyst at Haaretz newspaper, Amos Harel, pointed out today that Netanyahu, during his meeting with Trump next week, could either align with the U.S. proposal, try to obstruct it, or seek a phased agreement that would involve the release of ten Israeli prisoners and then enter into long-lasting negotiations that would delay the end of the war.

Harel added that Netanyahu may seek, as he has done in the past, to deceive the Americans by pretending he agrees to reach an agreement, while continuing to present tough demands to Hamas, "and place the blame for failure on the opposing side."