Israeli PM vows to resume war after first phase of deal with Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  has promised to resume the war after the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. This was reported by The Washington Post, UNN wrote.

Details

According to media reports, behind closed doors, Netanyahu promised his far-right allies that the war could resume after the initial phase of the deal, in which Hamas would gradually release 33 hostages in exchange for the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

According to the agreement, the second phase of the ceasefire must be agreed upon during the initial phase and will require the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. If the ceasefire is violated before then, almost half of the hostages held by Hamas, many of them Israeli soldiers, will remain in captivity.

One of those who condemned the signing of the agreement was Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said that his Religious Zionism party would remain in Netanyahu's government, but on the condition that the war resumes “with great force, on a full scale and in a new form until we achieve complete victory.” 

On Thursday, the party issued a statement demanding that Netanyahu  “guarantee a return to war to destroy Hamas... with a subsequent change in the approach to achieving victory immediately after the first phase of the agreement as a condition for the party's continued participation in the government and coalition.

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According to European University political scientist Gail Talshir, the Knesset (Israeli parliament) said that Netanyahu is currently focusing his efforts on convincing Smotrych to stay.

Smotrich holds a special position in the Defense Ministry and oversees the government agency that deals with policy in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Talshir said Netanyahu fears losing Smotrich, who represents a small but politically important base.

In Netanyahu's eyes, [Smotrych] is the most powerful because he can destroy the coalition, and so Netanyahu promises Smotrych and Ben Gur that Israel will return to war after the first phase. More importantly, he has made promises of Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank and of a military takeover of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. This will mean that Israeli citizens will need to enter the Gaza Strip, which is the beginning of the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip

Before the ceasefire was announced on Wednesday, a senior Israeli official emphasized that the agreement in the first phase would not be a comprehensive peace deal, but “a ceasefire for many weeks.

New Trump administration officials have also said they will support Netanyahu if he returns to combat.

Recall 

Earlier, UNN wrote that Israel and Hamas signed a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip after making final changes.