Return to war

Key party in Netanyahu government threatens to quit if Israel doesn’t return to war after ceasefire

From CNN's Tamar Michaelis and Mostafa Salem

A key party in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition is threatening to quit if the prime minister doesn’t return to war in Gaza after the first phase of a ceasefire-hostage agreement that was reached with Hamas on Wednesday. The move could lead to the collapse of the Israeli government.

The agreement announced by mediators Qatar, the United States and Egypt stipulates that Hamas and Israel start negotiating a permanent ceasefire during the 42-day first phase of a truce.

The Israeli cabinet delayed a Thursday vote to ratify the deal, citing last-minute changes by Hamas – which the militant group denied.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionist Party on Thursday conditioned that Israel must “return to the war in order to destroy Hamas and the return of all the hostages… immediately after the conclusion of the first phase of the deal” to remain in government, it said in a statement.

The party did not say if it sought a written guarantee from Netanyahu to return to war.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a fellow far-right member of the government, has also threatened to resign and has called on Smotrich to join him. Neither party has enough lawmakers in parliament to collapse the government alone.

Together, both ministers control 14 seats in the legislature, enough to topple the government.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid has offered Netanyahu a “safety net” to protect his government from collapse. That support, however, would almost certainly be tied to the ceasefire deal, and could be withdrawn after all hostages are released, collapsing the government.