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Israel confirmed a Gaza ceasefire deal had been reached after a last-minute crisis in talks with Hamas was resolved, with Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet due to vote on the deal on Friday.
US-led mediators announced on Wednesday that both sides had reached a multi-phase deal to end the 15-month-old war and free 98 hostages still held by the Palestinian militant group.
But Israel’s official approval has been delayed by disagreements with Hamas over which Palestinian prisoners should be released and political tensions within Netanyahu’s government.
According to a person familiar with Israeli government discussions, the cabinet is now expected to approve the deal on Friday, and the full cabinet will meet and vote on Saturday night after the Sabbath.
Under the law, the Israeli public then has the right to appeal to the Supreme Court against the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails who are part of the deal – making it “likely,” the person added, that implementation of the deal would only begin on Monday.
Mediators were previously confident that the ceasefire would come into effect and the first three Israeli hostages freed by noon on Sunday.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, is also trying to manage a looming political crisis at home, with far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announcing Thursday night that he and his Jewish Power party would quit the ruling coalition if the “reckless” deal was approved.
Ben-Gvir and his ultra-nationalist ally, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have repeatedly threatened to quit Netanyahu’s government if he accepts a deal ending the war.
The departure of Jewish Power would leave the prime minister’s coalition with a majority of two seats in the Israeli parliament. It would also increase pressure on Smotrich’s party of religious Zionism to follow suit and withdraw.
Although Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are not considered to have enough support in the cabinet to torpedo the deal’s approval, if both were to withdraw their far-right parties from the government, they would lose their parliamentary majority. Israel’s political system does not prohibit minority governments, and opposition parties have said they are ready to support Netanyahu’s coalition if necessary.
But the loss of his two allies would shake Netanyahu’s power and could lead to early elections.
