Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says his Otzma Yehudit party will vote against the first phase of the ceasefire deal announced today, in which Palestinian prisoners will be released in exchange for all 48 Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Ben Gvir’s party is not exiting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition now, but he warns that if Hamas is not dismantled, Otzma Yehudit will “bring down the government.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a fellow far-right leader, likewise announced that his Religious Zionism party would oppose the deal.