Pressure on Netanyahu to continue the war… Otherwise, the fate of the government is at stake
While demands from several Israeli politicians and military officials to halt the current war in Gaza escalate, the extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, threatened on Tuesday to dissolve the Israeli government if the war in Gaza comes to a stop.
In a concise post on his (X) platform account, he stated, “Stopping the war equals dissolving the government,” which observers consider a reference to the pressure faced by Benjamin Netanyahu‘s government from the religious right, a partner in the coalition.
Simultaneously, amid talks of a possible new agreement for a long-term humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, ending the ongoing war between Hamas and the Israeli army, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that stopping the war in exchange for the release of all detainees in Gaza is a “plan to eliminate Israel.” He made this statement on his (X) platform account in response to the Israeli army‘s Arab Affairs commentator, Jacky Hugi.
Hugi wrote, “A proposal will soon be presented to the Israeli government and Israeli society: the release of all detainees, including soldiers, in exchange for ending the war.”
Today, Wednesday, Hamas announced its readiness to extend the current ceasefire with Israel until Thursday morning for an additional (4) days. Israeli authorities stated that it is possible to extend the humanitarian ceasefire agreement and the exchange of prisoners, which ends Thursday morning, for one or two additional days, according to a statement from the Israeli government’s official broadcasting authority today.
The authority mentioned, “In the summit held in Doha, a deal is being formulated that includes soldiers, detainees, and the main obstacle is that Hamas demands a complete cessation of firing, while Israel opposes that.”
It added, “The participants in the Qatari capital discussed a new agreement between Israel and Hamas, under which all detainees in Gaza, including soldiers, will be released.”
Furthermore, Israel will release a large number of security prisoners from Israeli prisons and commit to a long-term cessation of firing.
This comes at a time when talks about a comprehensive plan to stop the firing are escalating. A knowledgeable source mentioned that the director of the Israeli Intelligence Agency (Mossad), David Barnea, and the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, met with the Qatari Prime Minister in Doha on Tuesday to use the extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as a basis for further progress.
It is worth mentioning that Qatari, Egyptian, and American mediation began on November 24th, reaching a (4)-day humanitarian ceasefire, which was announced on Monday to be extended for an additional two days. Among its provisions are a temporary ceasefire, the exchange of prisoners, and the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, where about (2.3) million Palestinians are living, affected by a destructive war waged by Israel since October 7th.
Hamas released (12) more hostages in exchange for Israel releasing (30) Palestinian prisoners on Tuesday, marking the fifth day of an extended ceasefire lasting (6) days between the two sides in the Gaza war.
The International Committee of the Red Cross stated that (12) hostages were transferred from Gaza, and the Israeli army confirmed that its special forces accompanied the (10) Israeli citizens and (2) foreign nationals to Israeli territory.
