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This is not a threat, but can we keep it as a promise...

Israel's security minister threatens to quit government if war against Hamas stops

Israel's national security minister is threatening to quit his position and "not be part of the government" if Israel decides to end the war against Hamas in Gaza.

"If there is no war, there is no government. I've said it all long. There is a war going on, we know it, but if, God forbid, it is decided to stop the war, I will not be part of the government," Itamar Ben Gvir said, speaking at a meeting of his far-right party, Jewish Power. "I would like to say to you that our being part of the government has an impact on our small divine plot of land," Ben Gvir also told members of his party at the meeting, touting some of their policies. 

Ben Gvir has a history of making threats like this. In late November, during a negotiated pause in the fighting to allow an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners — Ben Gvir threatened to quit Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu's government if the attacks on the Gaza Strip were not resumed as soon as the humanitarian truce came to an end.

A video of his comments was posted on social media by CNN affiliate KAN News, an Israeli public broadcaster.

Aljazeera has the reason for his new threats

Israel proposes up to two-month ceasefire in return for release of captives: Axios

The proposal, according to Axios, would involve a multiphase deal that would see the release in stages of more than 130 captives held in Gaza in return for an up to two-month ceasefire and the release of an as yet undetermined number of Palestinian prisoners.

The report, citing two Israeli officials, added that Israeli forces would be redeployed out of the main population centres of Gaza, allowing a “gradual return” of Palestinian civilians to Gaza City and the north of the enclave, and the officials said that after the two months are completed, the Israeli military’s operations in Gaza would be “significantly smaller in scope and intensity” than the current fighting.

Hamas has previously said that in exchange for the release of the captives, it demands a total end to the war and the release of all Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli government is under pressure from a protest movement led by family members of captives, which is demanding an immediate deal.


2 months of unimpeded aid is sorely needed, but I won't get my hopes up. The US also wants the war to continue

‘No change’ in US opposition to ceasefire

The White House’s Kirby says Washington supports pauses in the fighting to allow the release of captives but it still opposes ending the war. “We don’t support a general ceasefire, which is usually put in place in the expectation that you’re going to end a conflict and lead to specific negotiations – no change to our policy there.”



The US is getting more into it, let's bomb Yemen. Nothing like an ongoing war to boost your re-election chances. War time president tradition.

US names campaign to target Houthis in Yemen "Operation Poseidon Archer"

The United States has named the ongoing operation to target Houthi assets in Yemen “Operation Poseidon Archer,” according to two US officials. The named operation suggests a more organized, formal and potentially long-term approach to the operations in Yemen, where the US has been hitting Houthi infrastructure as the Iran-backed rebel group has vowed to keep targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. 

The US has struck Houthi targets in Yemen seven times since carrying out its first set of attacks together with the UK military on January 11. The first wave of strikes, in which the two countries hit approximately 30 sites across Houthi-controlled Yemen, marked the beginning of Operation Poseidon Archer, one official said.

Israel also does not want peace

Israeli defence minister says attacks against Hezbollah will continue

Yoav Gallant has met with his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu and expressed gratitude for Paris’s “commitment to changing the security situation in southern Lebanon, and to distancing Hezbollah forces from the border”, the Israeli government said in a statement.

“Minister Gallant reiterated the preference of Israel to pursue the diplomatic channel, while also maintaining military readiness,” it added.

“Minister Gallant added that even if Hezbollah ceases fire unilaterally, Israel will not cease fire until it can guarantee the safe return of the northern communities to their homes, following a change in the security situation along the border.”