Israeli far-right ministers threaten to quit if Biden plan goes ahead
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Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to resign Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's administration if he went ahead with a proposed plan brought forth by Joe Biden.
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Protesters in 'Tel Aviv' are demanding Benjamin Netanyahu accept Joe Biden's proposal for a ceasefire to bring back Israeli captives (AFP)
Far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to resign Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's administration Saturday if he went ahead with a captive release plan brought forth by US President Joe Biden.
Biden laid out a new proposal that involves releasing Israeli captives in exchange for a ceasefire in Gaza. He claimed that this is the most effective step toward de-escalating the ongoing war, adding, "With a ceasefire, that aid could be safely and effectively distributed to all who need it."
"As someone who's had a lifelong commitment to Israel, as the only American president who has ever gone to Israel at a time of war, as someone who just sent the US forces to directly defend Israel when it was attacked by Iran, I ask you to take a step back, think what will happen if this moment is lost," he stressed.
"We can't lose this moment."
"It's time for this war to end and for the day after to begin," emphasized Biden, who is under the pressure of an election year and amid the ongoing Israeli aggression, which has persisted for eight months.
Ben Gvir stated that if the agreement was approved, his party would "dissolve the government" and denounced the idea as "a victory for terrorism and a security risk to the State of Israel".
"Agreeing to such a deal is not total victory -- but total defeat," he expressed, adding that he would "not be part of a government that will agree to the proposed outline."
"We demand the continuation of the war until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages return," he wrote on X, adding that he was against Gazans returning to the north of Gaza and against the "wholesale release of terrorists".
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid pledged to provide Netanyahu "our safety net for a hostage deal if Ben Gvir and Smotrich leave the government".
Without Ben Gvir and Smotrich's parties, Netanyahu's government may lose its parliamentary majority.
Captives' families demand Netanyahu accept Biden' 3-phase plan
The families of Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip demanded Saturday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accept the proposal announced by US President Joe Biden regarding a ceasefire.
The families accused the "Extremists in the government" of sacrificing the captives to prolong the war, according to Israeli Channel 12,
They called on the Israeli public to accept the deal proposed by Biden, affirming that it was "forbidden to lose this moment," and that Biden for the first time gave "real hope."
According to a report in the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Biden's speech is evidence that he is frustrated with the strategy of "absolute victory" and calls for a prolonged war, in addition to concern about the position of extremists in Netanyahu’s government, at a time close to the resignation of Minister Benny Gantz,” noting that he did not mention pressure on Hamas but rather urged "Israel" to accept the deal.
The report explained that “To put it mildly, Israel did not like the speech delivered by the US President on Friday, even though he revealed the Israeli proposal to Hamas, and the Netanyahu government considered it a weak speech that neglected to condemn Hamas and Palestinian organizations.”
The Hamas movement expressed that it "views positively" the contents of US President Joe Biden's speech earlier on Friday regarding "a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, reconstruction and the exchange of prisoners," the Palestinian Resistance group said in a statement.
