The Gaza cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas had yet to be ratified by Israel’s government on Thursday, but the battle over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political future has already begun.
Hours after the deal was announced, Mr. Netanyahu was facing a potential internal rebellion from far-right partners in his governing coalition on whose support he depends to remain in power.
There is a majority in the cabinet in favor of the cease-fire agreement, and if there is a vote it is expected to be approved even without the far-right parties’ votes.
But the far-right parties, led by Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and the minister for national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, vehemently oppose the deal.
The far-right ministers have threatened to quit the government if Mr. Netanyahu proceeds from the first phase of the cease-fire agreement, which calls for a temporary, six-week truce, to a permanent one.
Mr. Netanyahu may soon have a fateful choice to make in the politically precarious weeks ahead: keep his coalition together by resuming the fight against Hamas in Gaza, or risk the coalition coming apart halfway through its four-year term and gambling on an early election.
After more than 15 months of devastating war, and with President-elect Donald J. Trump about to assume office, some analysts think ending the conflict in Gaza is his better option.
“Elections are about a story,” said Moshe Klughaft, an Israeli strategic adviser and international political campaign manager who has advised Mr. Netanyahu in the past, adding that in the event of an election, Mr. Netanyahu’s next story will be one of “war and peace.”
The first phase of the deal is expected to start on Sunday and last six weeks, during which Hamas is supposed to release 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and Israeli troops are supposed to redeploy east, away from populated areas of Gaza.
If implemented, the second phase, over another six weeks, would see the rest of the hostages return home, some alive, some dead, and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
The hostages’ families have pleaded with Mr. Netanyahu to put politics aside and complete the cease-fire deal. Mr. Trump has made it clear that he wants the war, prompted by the Hamas-led terrorist assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, to end.
Content Source: www.nytimes.com