Ben Gvir Threatens to Abandon Netanyahu if Gaza Offensive Lowered

An Israeli artillery unit shells targets in the Gaza Strip near the Gaza border on Thursday (EPA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered firm stances last Wednesday saying Israel intends to “continue the war on the Gaza Strip until the end” only following threats of the far-right wing in his government, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, political sources in Tel Aviv revealed.
Ben Gvir spoke directly to Netanyahu and said his Otzma Yehudit party is the most loyal to him in the ruling coalition, even more than the Likud.
However, the minister affirmed that if anyone intends to halt the Israeli Army before Hamas has been defeated and all the hostages have been returned, then the PM should take into account that Otzma Yehudit will not be with him.
Netanyahu therefore understood that Ben Gvir would join efforts by some right-wing parties to change Netanyahu and to appoint a new Likud leader.
This is the reason why the Israeli PM said Wednesday there would be no ceasefire in the Gaza Strip until the “elimination” of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Netanyahu's remarks came amid reports saying Israel is negotiating in an attempt to reach a new prisoner swap deal with the Hamas group.
In a statement to the media on Wednesday, Netanyahu said, “We’re continuing the war to the end. It will continue until Hamas is destroyed — until victory.”
He added: “Anyone who thinks we’ll stop is unmoored from reality... We’re raining fire on Hamas, hell fire. All Hamas terrorists, from first to last, face death. They have two options only: surrender or die.”
But it seems that Ben Gvir and his partner, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, are not satisfied with Netanyahu’s announcements. They want more.
“The idea of reducing activity in Gaza is a failure of war management by the small [war] cabinet. It should be dismantled immediately,” Ben Gvir said in a statement.
“The time has come to restore the reins to the wider [security] cabinet,” he added.
Smotrich, who is also a member of Israel’s war cabinet, expressed his rejection that Mossad spy agency chief David Barne be sent to Egypt to discuss freeing high-level Palestinian security prisoners in return for Israeli captives in Gaza.