Netanyahu Faces Revolt: Far-right Threatens Walkout Over Hamas Deal

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, as he faced pushback against the US-brokered agreement from his far-right allies.

Netanyahu’s government, which relies on the parliamentary support of two far-right parties bitterly opposed to any deal, accused Hamas of backtracking on Thursday morning.

“Israel will not set a date for a cabinet and government meeting [to approve the deal] until the mediators announce that Hamas has approved all the details of the agreement,” Netanyahu’s office said.

Israel said earlier on Thursday that Hamas was seeking to dictate which Palestinian prisoners should be released in exchange for Israeli hostages.

Netanyahu’s statement came as a finance minister Bezalel Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionist party said on Thursday morning that it could leave the government if the deal led to a permanent end of the war.

Speaking to Kan Radio, Zvi Sukkot, a lawmaker from the party, said it would “in all likelihood” resign from the government if a deal was approved, since its mission was to “change the DNA of Israel”, not just make up numbers in the coalition.

The party said later on Thursday it was “a condition for the party to remain in the government and the coalition” that Israel should resume fighting “immediately upon the conclusion of the first phase of the deal”.

While Smotrich and his far-right ally Itamar Ben-Gvir are not thought to have enough support in the cabinet to torpedo a deal should Netanyahu put it to a vote, if they both pulled their far-right parties out of the government, it would lose its majority in parliament.

This would not automatically spell the end of Netanyahu’s government, as Israel’s political system does not bar minority governments, and opposition parties have said that they are prepared to prop up the government if needed.

But the loss of his two far right allies would shake Netanyahu’s hold on power and could lead to early elections.