Ben Gvir: Netanyahu will not have a mandate to continue his work if he decides to end the war without attacking Rafah (Al Jazeera)

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatened on Monday to topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he did not launch a large-scale military attack on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, to eliminate the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

Ben Gvir, who belongs to the extreme right, said on the “X” platform that Netanyahu will not have a mandate to continue his work as prime minister if he decides to end the war without launching a large-scale attack on Rafah, which he described as “the last stronghold of Hamas.”

Netanyahu had repeatedly announced his intention to invade Rafah on the border with Egypt, despite international warnings of catastrophic repercussions, due to the presence of about 1.4 million displaced people there.

Ben Gvir's threat came in light of reports of possible progress in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement to exchange prisoners and ceasefire.

For his part, the far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, called on Netanyahu to hold a cabinet meeting to take decisions on the deal and the Rafah operation, as he wants the two decisions to be taken in the mini-ministerial council and not in the war council.

In recent months, Israeli media reported that Ben Gvir and Smotrich prevented Netanyahu from reaching an agreement with Hamas, under the threat of withdrawing from the government.

If the two parties, the “Jewish Power” party and the “Religious Zionism” party, withdraw, the current coalition government in place since December 2022 will fall.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip despite the Security Council’s ceasefire resolution, which as of yesterday, Sunday, resulted in the death of 33,175 Palestinians and the injury of 75,886 others, most of whom are children and women.

The aggression also caused massive destruction of infrastructure, leaving an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” according to Palestinian and international reports.

Source: Anadolu Agency