Netanyahu is trying to convince Smotrich and Ben-Gvir to agree to a deal to end the war in Gaza and prevent the government from collapsing

Since returning from his visit to Washington, Netanyahu has been doing his utmost to prevent the collapse of his government, in light of the opposition of Finance Minister Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to ending the war.

His main promise is that after the 60-day truce ends, and if Hamas is not willing to disarm, Israel will begin its flagship project, the humanitarian city in Rafah, according to Israel’s Channel 12.

Netanyahu met last night with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and tried to persuade him not to resign from the government in the event of a ceasefire.

Netanyahu promised Smotrich that “After the ceasefire, we will move the residents south and begin the siege”.

Smotrich is determined to bring down the government if he believes the war is truly over.

However, if there is even a slim chance of fighting resuming after the agreement is reached, he will likely decide it’s better not to hold elections, believing that doing so would inevitably mean the end of the war.

For Smotrich, who received seven promises from Netanyahu, this presents a dilemma.

He was in this position six months ago, under the previous agreement, which he also opposed.

Then Netanyahu promised him that after the truce, Israel would separate Gaza residents from Hamas fighters, and the finance minister decided to stay.

Netanyahu understood this and tried to convince him that this time would be different.

The reason for the difference was Iran… Netanyahu told him, “I’ve been busy with Iran until now, and now I will make sure the army carries out my orders”.

In a security discussion held last week, amid fighting in the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu stated that he supports the blockade strategy.

Netanyahu told the audience, “Everyone here knows that if they hadn’t been kidnapped, everyone here would be in favor of destroying Gaza… We need a blockade… And don’t tell me it won’t work… I’m betting on its success with all my might”.

Regarding Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu met with Ben-Gvir on Sunday as they discussed a planned agreement with Hamas for a prisoner exchange and ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The official Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported on Saturday that Ben-Gvir is likely to resign from the coalition government if an agreement is signed with Hamas.

A crisis within the ruling coalition, against the backdrop of the indirect negotiations underway for a week in Qatar between Israel and Hamas.

Smotrich, like Ben-Gvir, has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the government if the Israeli war of extermination in Gaza, which has been ongoing since October 7 attack.

Netanyahu’s government holds 68 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, and needs at least 61 seats to form a parliamentary majority and maintain its stability.

Of these seats, 8 belong to Smotrich’s party “Religious Zionism”, and 6 to Ben-Gvir’s party.

Therefore, the resignation of these two parties together is sufficient to bring down the government.