Three Israeli ministers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have stepped down due to disagreements over the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
The news came on Sunday, January 19, reported by the Associated Press (AP).
While the names of the other two ministers were not revealed, AP shared that they are leaders from the nationalist-religious party Otzma Yehudit.
This move comes on the first day of the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza. Though the ceasefire was set to begin at 8:30 AM local time, it has not been implemented yet.
According to AP, Otzma Yehudit, or Jewish Power Party, will no longer be part of the coalition government.
Despite this, the party has made it clear that while they are leaving the coalition, they do not intend to actively try to overthrow Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government.
Before the ceasefire was announced, Ben-Gvir had been critical of the deal, calling it an “irresponsible agreement.”
He also stated that he would resign if the deal went ahead.
Ben-Gvir had urged other far-right and settler groups to take similar action.
He said,
“The proposed deal will release hundreds of Palestinian militants and withdraw our forces from key areas in Gaza, erasing all the progress we’ve made. This would leave Hamas undefeated.”
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire on January 15, brokered by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar.
The deal stated that 737 Palestinian prisoners would be freed on the first day of the ceasefire, in exchange for 33 Israeli hostages being released by Hamas, the militant group from Gaza.
Though the ceasefire was expected to begin at 8:30 AM today, it has not taken effect because Hamas has not yet released the list of hostages it is holding.
Netanyahu commented,
“The ceasefire will not start until Hamas gives us the list of Israeli hostages.”
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