SvennoJ 4 hours ago
Analysis: Netanyahu makes rare political error, complicating approval of Gaza truce
At the 11th hour, the day after the leaders of Qatar and the United States announced a ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have made a rare political mistake, painting himself into a corner.The agreement announced in Doha on Wednesday still needs to be approved by Israel’s cabinet, and Netanyahu may not have had the level of support going into the final talks that he needed. That cabinet meeting has yet to be scheduled, the prime minister’s spokesperson, Omer Dostri, tells CNN.
He faces a stark choice: Give in to extremist right-wing demands to return to war after a 42-day ceasefire or accept support from the political opposition and give them veto power over his future in office.
The Israeli cabinet has delayed its vote to approve the ceasefire announced on Wednesday. It claims the reason is that Hamas has inserted some last-minute demands, which CNN understands concerns which Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli detention. A Hamas spokesperson said the group “is committed to the ceasefire agreement that was announced by the mediators.”
But in the background, a swirl of activity surrounds the ultranationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose tiny Religious Zionist party is key to Netanyahu’s ability to govern.
The party on Thursday said that as a condition of its support for the ceasefire deal, Netanyahu must commit to restarting the war after 42 days, as soon as the first phase of the truce is over. If he doesn’t, the party said, it will withdraw from the governing coalition. If Netanyahu commits to restart the war after 42 days, and that becomes public knowledge, it could collapse the agreement before it even starts, and bring the ire of incoming US President Donald Trump, who has championed the deal as his doing.
That would make Netanyahu lose his majority the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. But it doesn’t mean his government would collapse, because the opposition leader Yair Lapid, of the Yesh Atid party, has said that he would give the prime minister a lifeline by supporting him in the legislature “for an agreed amount of time.”
That means that Lapid would hold a sword over Netanyahu’s neck, and could collapse the government and bring about an election whenever he choses.
“It’s stunning to me that the prime minister – the magician, the master politician – seems to have miscalculated,” Aaron David Miller, a veteran American negotiator, told CNN on Thursday.
Egypt pledges to ensure Gaza ceasefire implementation
Egypt says it will continue its efforts to implement the commitments outlined in the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
During a phone call with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty highlighted Egypt’s active role alongside Qatar and the United States in reaching the agreement for a prisoner exchange and halt of fighting in Gaza.
Abdelatty emphasised the importance of expanding humanitarian aid across Gaza, rehabilitating hospitals and healthcare facilities, and enabling displaced civilians to return to their homes.
Essay Pro