Netanyahu's far-right partners reject cease-fire compromise

Source: The Straits Times

JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel manoeuvred into rougher political waters on June 3, as two far-right partners threatened to bring down his government should Israel agree to a cease-fire deal that would end the war in Gaza without eliminating Hamas.

Netanyahu told lawmakers in a closed-door meeting on June 3 that President Joe Biden had not presented the "whole picture" when he described a proposed cease-fire from the White House last week, according to a person who attended the meeting and requested anonymity.

Netanyahu, however, expressed openness to a 42-day pause in the fighting, the person said, embracing at least part of the first phase of the three-part cease-fire plan.

Biden called the three-phase proposal, which he said was put forward by Israel, a road map to an "enduring cease-fire" and to the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza. If Hamas abided by the agreement's terms, the president said, it would ultimately lead to the "cessation of hostilities permanently."

"It's time to end this war," Biden said

Two-far-right members of Netanyahu's governing coalition, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, and Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, said on June 3 that they could not accept any deal that stops short of completely eliminating Hamas.

As Biden described it May 31, the Israeli military's attacks in Gaza had already eliminated Hamas as a major threat, and that "at this point, Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another Oct 7."

But in the views of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, whose parties make up a small but critical piece of Netanyahu's majority, the proposal does not go far enough to guarantee Hamas' destruction. The men on June 3 threatened to pull out of the coalition, taking down the government with them, should the prime minister accept a deal that stops short of destroying Hamas.

"If the government, God forbid, decides to adopt this proposal of surrender, we will no longer be a part of it and we will take action to replace the failing leadership with a new leadership that knows how to defeat Hamas and win the war," Smotrich said.

Ben-Gvir said that what Biden presented would mean "the surrender of Israel" and "the end of the war without achieving its main goal, the destruction of Hamas."

Without Ben-Gvir's party, which holds six parliamentary seats, and Smotrich's party, which holds seven, Netanyahu would likely struggle to remain in office.

Netanyahu told the legislators June 3 that he would not agree to completely end the war without Hamas' defeat or surrender, said the person in the meeting. The prime minister's office reiterated that point in a statement, saying, "The claims that we have agreed to a cease-fire without our conditions being met are incorrect."

Netanyahu's comments underscored how he has struggled to navigate competing pressures from Israel's allies and the international community, which are demanding a stop to the fighting, and his right-wing coalition partners who want Israel to forge ahead in Gaza until Hamas is eliminated.