AA / Ankara / Ahmed Asmar
The far-right Israeli minister in charge of finance, Bezalel Smotrich, threatened on Sunday to overthrow the government if it did not occupy the Gaza Strip.
The extremist minister described the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip as a “very serious error” and a “surrender to Hamas”.
The ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza came into force at 11:15 a.m. local time (9:15 a.m. GMT) on Sunday, after a delay of several hours due to Israeli accusations against Hamas of delaying the release. of a list of prisoners to be released. It was initially scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. local time (6:30 a.m. GMT).
Israel “must occupy Gaza and create a temporary military government because there is no other way to defeat Hamas,” Smotrich told Army Radio.
“I will bring down the government if it does not resume the fight in a way that allows us to take control of the entire Gaza Strip and govern it.”
The far-right minister in charge of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, had previously announced the withdrawal of his party from the government coalition following the conclusion of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
After the withdrawal of Ben-Gvir’s party, the ruling coalition still survives with 62 parliamentary seats out of the 120 in the Knesset.
-On Saturday, 24 government ministers approved the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza, while eight rejected it.
According to local health authorities, Israel’s genocidal war against the Gaza Strip has left nearly 47,000 dead, mainly women and children, and more than 110,700 injured since October 7, 2023.
In November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. in the Gaza Strip.
Israel is also being prosecuted before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for “the crime of genocide”, due to the war it is waging against the Palestinian enclave.
*Translated from English by Mourad Belhaj
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