Some in Netanyahu’s Government Pressure Him to Reject Longer Cease-Fire

https://nytimes.com/world/middleeast/netanyahu-cease-fire-politi…

As international pressure grows to extend a temporary cease-fire with Hamas, some right-wing members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government are threatening to bring it down if he does not resume fighting in Gaza.

The far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said on Wednesday that if Israel did not continue its war with Hamas, his political faction would leave the government coalition.

“Stopping the war = breaking apart the government,” said Mr. Ben-Gvir in a written statement.

While Mr. Ben-Gvir’s departure alone would not topple the government, it would give Mr. Netanyahu a very slim majority to keep his hold on power.

In a statement released after Mr. Ben-Gvir’s, Mr. Netanyahu insisted that the war would continue.

“There is no situation in which we do not go back to fighting until the end,” the prime minister said. “This is my policy. The entire Security Cabinet is behind it. The entire Government is behind it. The soldiers are behind it. The people are behind it — this is exactly what we will do.”