TEL AVIV, September 26. /TASS/. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who heads the Otzma Yehudit (or Jewish Power) far-right party, has announced plans to withdraw from the ruling coalition if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agrees to a ceasefire in Lebanon.
"If the temporary ceasefire becomes permanent we will resign from the government," he said, as cited by the Times of Israel newspaper.
According to Ben Gvir, pausing the fighting against the Hezbollah movement "conveys weakness, endangers the security of your citizens, and proves that you do not intend to win." "The most basic and understandable thing is that when your enemy is on his knees, you do not allow him to recover, but work to defeat him," he pointed out.
Ben Gvir is known as a hardliner; in particular, he strongly opposes an end to Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip.
The current Israeli government was formed in late 2022 after a parliamentary election. The ruling coalition brings together the Likud right-wing party, which received 32 out of the 120 seats in parliament, and other right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties. The coalition has a total of 64 seats and if the Otzma Yehudit party pulls out, it will lose its parliamentary majority, which may lead to the dissolution of parliament and a new election.
Earlier, the White House released a joint statement by the US, the European Union and some other countries calling "for an immediate 21 day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border."
On September 23, Israel launched Operation Northern Arrows against Hezbollah’s military facilities in Lebanon. The declared goal is to create safe conditions for the return of local residents to Israel’s northern border areas, from where they were evacuated due to the shelling attacks that Hezbollah units have been conducting since October 8, 2023.