Possible hostage deal threatens to divide Israel’s right-wing Cabinet
Possible hostage deal threatens to divide Israel’s right-wing cabinet
TEL AVIV — As Hamas prepares to deliver its verdict on a proposed deal for a cease-fire and the freeing of more than a hundred hostages in Gaza, ministers, political analysts and people close to Israel’s prime minister say the accord threatens to tear apart the country’s right-wing Cabinet.
While Hamas deliberates, Israel’s war Cabinet is expected to discuss the deal during a meeting Sunday evening, according to Israeli media.
But Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right minister of national security, threatened last week on X that “a reckless deal = the dismantling of the government.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his office in Israel on Sept. 27, 2023. Abir Sultan / POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesHours after Ben-Gvir’s comments, opposition leader Yair Lapid volunteered his center-left Yesh Atid Party to enter the Cabinet to rescue the coalition and the hostage deal if Ben-Gvir withdraws.
Even if the current government survives, the conflict over the hostage deal exposes profound rifts in Israeli society. The deal pits dueling narratives of Israel’s vision of itself against each other: its solemn pledge to its soldiers and citizens that no one will be left behind, versus Israel’s oft-stated goal that it will destroy its enemies at any cost.
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