Hardline minister Ben-Gvir hands in resignation over ceasefire

FRANCE 24 English

Visit our website: http://www.france24.com  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/France24_en

Transcript

00:00One of the most hardline ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu's hardline government is out.

00:06Days ago, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had threatened to pull his far-right

00:11Otzma Yehudit, or Jewish Power Party, out of the governing coalition if the Gaza ceasefire

00:17took effect. On Sunday morning, as the bombs were silenced, he did just that.

00:23Our word is our word. We will not agree to a reckless deal. My friends in Otzma Yehudit

00:30and I submitted our resignation from the government and the coalition this morning.

00:34In the letter, Netanyahu called the ceasefire a complete victory for terrorism.

00:41Referring to the release of Palestinian prisoners, he said the deal would free

00:44hundreds of murderers with the blood of men, women and children on their hands,

00:48which represents a disgraceful surrender to Hamas, as does the pullout from Gaza.

00:54He said the party would come back to the fold if the fighting restarted.

00:59Otzma Yehudit's move won't affect the implementation of the ceasefire,

01:03and the loss of the party's six MPs is not enough to bring down the government.

01:07The coalition led by Netanyahu still has a majority in the Knesset, but now a very slim one.

01:14It's relied on the support of far-right MPs to stay in power,

01:18and the Otzma Yehudit resignations may not be the only ones.

01:22Several other coalition MPs from the far-right religious Zionist party and even from Netanyahu's

01:27only could previously threatened to resign in the event of a permanent ceasefire.

Category

Transcript

Recommended