Israel's ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich threaten to topple government if Biden-backed ceasefire is accepted

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to leave the coalition and topple the government if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enters a Gaza ceasefire deal that would entail ending the war without the elimination of the Hamas movement.

Such a deal would be "foolhardy, constituting a victory for terrorism and a threat to Israel's national security," the ultranationalist head of the Jewish Power party said on X.

Finance Minister and head of the ultranationalist Religious Zionism party Bezalel Smotrich joined Ben-Gvir in threatening to leave the fragile coalition if the Israeli proposal for the hostage deal presented by President Biden goes through