Intricacies of the Israeli Coalition Provoke Biden’s Gaza Ceasefire Proposal

Israeli coalition faces collapse as far-right ministers threaten to quit over Biden's Gaza ceasefire proposal, demanding Hamas' destruction before any truce.

Relations within Israel’s ruling coalition led by the incumbent prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu are very tense after U. S. President Joe Biden introduced the draft of the ceasefire resolution aimed at putting an end to the 8-month conflict with Hamas in Gaza. 

The 30/100 plan as advocated by the Israeli defense force has three parts; the first one is the first six-week ceasefire wherein Israeli forces will vacate populated areas of Gaza. It would then free all hostages in Hamas's hands, cease combat operations once and for all, and start the rebuilding of Gaza.

Nonetheless, two right-wing ministers, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have vowed to bring down the government and cause an early election if Netanyahu accepts the deal proposed by the United States. They continue to demand that Hamas should be eliminated before any cease-fire can be negotiated.

This is a threat of violence – a disturbing message from Smotrich: “I will not be part of a government that agrees to the proposed outline and ends the war without destroying Hamas and bringing back all the hostages,” Smotrich warned in a social media post. Ben-Gvir considered it “a reckless deal” that would “turn into a victory for terrorism”.

It is quite crucial since Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition government has very a minimal majority due to the support of small religious parties.

The politician, Yair Lapid, who is the leader of the opposition, stated that he would support Netanyahu’s government for a certain period if the far-right rebels left due to the Gaza deal. However, the prime minister insists that Israel’s ‘demands for the cessation of hostilities have not shifted’ which are: neutralization of Hamas’s capacities and the release of all hostages.

In the streets, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Tel Aviv to demand that Netanyahu agree to Biden’s offer and step down. Policing was tense with rippling involved between the police force.

The animosity arose as the operation targets residential areas in the southern Gaza Strip, the Israeli air forces bombed Rafah close to the Egyptian border while Hamas fired rockets. More than 36000 people have been reported dead Palestinian since October when Hamas began an attack that led to the death of 1200 Israelites.

Also Read: Biden Pressures Hamas to Agree to Accept Israel’s Gaza Ceasefire Deal

Egypt, Qatar, and the United States have all called on the parties to “finalize” the agreement to restore a cease-fire to one of the Middle East’s longest and most devastating conflicts in recent years.