Israel's Smotrich threatens to topple government if Gaza is not occupied

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. (Photo/AA)

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to overthrow the government if it does not occupy Gaza.

The extremist minister called a Gaza ceasefire agreement on Sunday a “very serious mistake” and “surrender to Hamas.”

The Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement took effect at 0915 GMT on Sunday after a few hours’ delay due to Israeli accusations of Hamas of delaying the release of a list of captives set to be released. It was originally scheduled to start at 0630 GMT.

Israel “must occupy Gaza and create a temporary military government because there is no other way to defeat Hamas,” Smotrich told Army Radio.

“I will overthrow the government if it does not return to fighting in a way that [leads to us] taking over the entire Gaza and governing it.”

Earlier, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced his party's withdrawal from the ruling coalition after the Gaza ceasefire.

Israel’s genocidal war

After Ben-Gvir's party withdrawal, the ruling coalition still survives with 62 parliamentary seats in the 120-seat Knesset.

On Saturday, 24 ministers in the government approved the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement while eight rejected it.

Nearly 47,000 people have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 110,700 others wounded in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli war on Gaza has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

___

Source: TRT