Currently Online 
No will from part of Netanyahu and allies to move to phase 2 of Gaza ceasefire: Expert
Meron Rapaport, editor and writer at Local Call, a Hebrew-language news website, says there is no political will from part of Netanyahu and certainly his right-wing allies in the government and outside to continue to stage two of the ceasefire.
But at the same time, Netanyahu, Rapaport says, is in a sort of dead end. “Because going back to war after Trump set the goal of ethnic cleansing of Gaza … will be viewed by allies and maybe by Netanyahu himself as a failure.”
“At the same time, going to the second stage of the ceasefire deal will topple this government. So, Netanyahu is in a really tough situation,” he told Al Jazeera.
Rapaport said Israel did not fulfil the goal it set after it launched the war on October 7, 2023.
“Now, after Trump, the goals are even higher, which is more complicated to achieve. On the other hand, going for a ceasefire, full withdrawal, prisoner exchanges, including releasing of high-profile prisoners such as Marwan Barghouti and others is completely impossible in the current government,” he said.
“So Netanyahu is in a very, very difficult situation, he wants to keep his government, but he is under pressure from Trump to go more to the right than he wants.
“I think still it does seem that going for the second stage is, I won’t say inevitable, but there are many chances that Netanyahu will have to go to the second stage due to the internal pressure from families of hostages and other political players.”
Former Israeli military officials warn against ‘reckless’ renewed war: Report
Hundreds of former senior Israeli military officials have written a letter addressed to the Israeli leadership and public that sternly warns against the “irresponsibility and recklessness of renewing the war” in Gaza without a clear strategic goal.
Former Major General Matan Vilnai leads the list of 550 Israelis who backed the letter, and points out that resuming the military campaign would lead to the deaths of the remaining captives in Gaza, according to Maariv newspaper.
The popular Hebrew-language daily cited the letter as saying such a war would also exhaust the army and “lead to a bloody, ongoing occupation with no end in sight and the loss of unprecedented regional opportunities”, in reference to a normalisation deal with Saudi Arabia.
According to the general, the Israeli government is acting against the will of the people and giving in to the demands of an extreme minority, who wish to annex the occupied West Bank and perpetuate conflict.
Israeli minister threatens to quit government if Gaza war stops
Far-right Israeli Settlements and National Missions Minister Orit Strook says ahead of the meeting of the security cabinet that she will quit her job if the war stops.
A member of the Religious Zionism party, Strook said such a scenario would mean “Israel gives up on subduing and destroying Hamas, and we will crash into a major disaster”, according to public broadcaster Kan.
“We will not be in the government if that happens. The terrible mistake we made will have terrible consequences in people’s lives, because of the strengthening of Hamas,” Strook said.
Such calls have been echoed by other far-right members of the Israeli government, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Israel PM says ‘committed’ to Trump’s Gaza displacement plan
Netanyahu says he is “committed” to Trump’s plan for Gaza, which involves displacing more than two million inhabitants of the Palestinian territory.
“Just as I have committed to, on the day after the war in Gaza, there will be neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority. I am committed to US President Trump’s plan for the creation of a different Gaza,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Essay Pro