Three far-right ministers leave Israeli cabinet following ceasefire deal

The party of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said its ministers submitted their resignations from the government on Sunday in opposition to the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The departure of the Jewish Power party from the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not bring down the coalition or affect the ceasefire. But the departure of Ben-Gvir destabilizes the coalition.

It is the latest act of defiance by Ben-Gvir, the ultranationalist settler leader who, over the decades, has gone from an outlaw and provocateur to one of the world’s most influential politicians. influential people of Israel.

The ceasefire will end the war and free dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza. Ben-Gvir opposed the deal because it requires Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and withdraw its troops from Gaza’s southern border with Egypt – and because it leaves open the possibility that Hamas remains in power in Gaza.

Before his resignation, he said the ceasefire was “reckless” and would “destroy all of Israel’s achievements.”

In his Cabinet post, Ben-Gvir oversaw the country’s police force. He has used his influence to encourage Netanyahu to continue the war in Gaza and recently boasted of blocking past efforts to achieve a ceasefire.

He has also made several visits to Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site – the contested hilltop compound that houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque – including last month. During one such visit in July, he said he came to pray for the return of the hostages “but without a reckless deal, without surrendering.”

The move, while legal, was seen as provocative, violating a long-standing ban on Jewish prayer in that country and threatening to disrupt months of sensitive negotiations. The site is revered by Jews as the Temple Mount.

Ben-Gvir has been convicted eight times for offenses including racism and supporting a terrorist organization. When he was a teenager, his views were so extreme that the army barred him from compulsory military service.

Ben-Gvir gained notoriety in his youth as a disciple of the late racist rabbi Meir Kahane. He first became a national figure when he broke a hood ornament on former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s car in 1995.

“We have reached his car, and we will reach him too,” he said, just weeks before Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist opposed to his peace efforts with the Palestinians.

Two years later, Ben-Gvir took responsibility for orchestrating a campaign of protests, including death threats, that forced Irish singer Sinead O’Connor to cancel a peace concert in Jerusalem.

Ben-Gvir’s political rise was the culmination of years of efforts by the media-savvy lawmaker to gain legitimacy. But it also reflects a rightward shift by the Israeli electorate that has brought its religious and ultra-nationalist ideology into the mainstream and diminished hopes for Palestinian independence.

Ben-Gvir trained as a lawyer and became known as a defense attorney for extremist Jews accused of violence against Palestinians.

Blessed with a quick wit and cheerful attitude, the outspoken Ben-Gvir also became a popular figure in the media, paving the way for his entry into politics. He was first elected to Parliament in 2021.

Ben-Gvir has called for the expulsion of his political opponents and has in the past encouraged police to open fire on Palestinian stone throwers in a tense Jerusalem neighborhood while brandishing a pistol. As national security minister, he encouraged police to take a hard line against anti-government protesters.

Ben-Gvir won his Cabinet post after 2022 elections that brought Netanyahu and his far-right partners, including Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party, to power.

“Over the last year, I have been on a mission to save Israel,” Ben-Gvir told reporters before these elections. “Millions of citizens are waiting for a true right-wing government. Now is the time to give them one.

Ben-Gvir has been a magnet for controversy throughout his tenure – encouraging the mass distribution of handguns to Jewish citizens, supporting Netanyahu’s controversial attempt to reform the country’s legal system, and frequently lashing out at leaders Americans for their perceived insults against Israel.

In May, Ben-Gvir criticized Joe Biden when the US president threatened to withhold some military aid if Israel invaded Rafah. Ben-Gvir, using a heart emoji in a post on social media platform X, wrote that Hamas loves Biden.

Ben-Gvir’s departure does not endanger the ceasefire, and Netanyahu still has a narrow parliamentary majority needed to retain power.

But if other hard-liners follow suit, Netanyahu’s government could collapse, triggering early elections.

“It is likely that he will have less survival time,” said Shmuel Rosner, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute and an analyst for Israeli public broadcaster Kan News.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said he would provide a political safety net for Netanyahu to ensure the government does not fall because of the deal.

But such a partnership is unlikely to last beyond the ceasefire because the two do not get along and would have difficulty working together, said Mairav ​​Zonszein, senior analyst on Israel at the International Crisis Group.