A FAR-RIGHT Israeli minister has threatened to overthrow the government if the country’s army does not occupy the entire Gaza Strip.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reportedly called the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel a “very serious mistake” in an interview on the state-funded broadcaster Army Radio on Sunday.
In the interview, Smotrich took aim at the country’s army chief, Herzi Halevi, saying he was not the right person for the job and that Israel had “surrendered to Hamas” by agreeing to a ceasefire.
Smotrich, who is the leader of the Religious Zionist Party, told Army Radio that Israel “must occupy Gaza and create a temporary military government because there is no other way to defeat Hamas".
He added: “I will overthrow the government if it does not return to fighting in a way that [leads to us] taking over the entire Gaza Strip and governing it.”
Smotrich’s comment follows the announcement at the end of last week by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stating his party will withdraw from the ruling coalition after the Gaza ceasefire.
Following Ben-Gvir's party withdrawal, the ruling coalition still holds a parliamentary majority with 62 seats from 120.
On Saturday last week, 24 ministers in the Israeli government approved the deal for a ceasefire and agreed to a prisoner exchange – eight ministers rejected it.
The ceasefire agreement which came into effect on Sunday marks the end of the 15-month conflict between Israel and Hamas following the October 7 attacks in 2023.
Palestinian health authorities have said Israel's ground and air assault in Gaza has killed more than 46,600 people, with just over half of the identified victims being women and children.
