Israeli Minister Threatens to Overthrow Netanyahu if Rafah is Not Attacked

TEL AVIV – Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to overthrow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government if he ends the war in the Gaza Strip without launching an attack on the southern city of Rafah.

“If the prime minister decides to end the war without carrying out a major attack on Rafah to defeat Hamas, he will not have the mandate to continue serving as prime minister,” the right-wing politician wrote in X.

Ben-Gvir’s threat comes amid reports of a possible breakthrough in Israel’s indirect negotiations with Hamas to reach a prisoner exchange and ceasefire deal.

Despite global condemnation of the disastrous situation in the Palestinian enclave, Israel’s prime minister has long stated his intention to attack Rafah, where more than 1.5 million refugees have sought refuge.

Netanyahu’s ruling coalition holds 64 seats in the 120-member Knesset. Apart from members of the Likud Party he leads, the coalition also includes two right-wing parties led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, which have a total of 13 seats. It takes 61 seats to form a majority government.

The Israeli colonial regime has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Nearly 76,000 people were injured and 7,000 people died under rubble across Gaza.

The United States and Western countries are suppliers of weapons that Israel uses to massacre Palestinians.

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