Far-Right Israeli Parties Rebel against Gaza Troop Reduction, Threaten to Leave Coalition

National Security Minister and Finance Minister criticize Netanyahu head-on

As the Israeli military withdraws the majority of its ground troops operating in the southern Gaza Strip, far-right factions within the Israeli coalition are vehemently protesting.

Minister of National Security of Israel Itamar Ben-Gvir, a leading far-right figure in Israel’s right-wing coalition, wrote on social media platform X on the 8th (local time), “If the Prime Minister wants to end the war without a massive Rafah offensive to defeat Hamas, he has no right to remain in office.”

This is a threat to withdraw support from the coalition if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu succumbs to international pressure, including the United States, and gives up a ground battle in Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, considered the last bastion of Hamas.

Another far-right politician within the coalition, Finance Minister of Israel Bezalel Smotrich, also criticized the withdrawal of ground troops deployed in the Gaza Strip and called on the Prime Minister to convene a security cabinet.

Minister Smotrich criticized, “Security cabinet is the meeting that can authorize significant decisions. Unfortunately, such procedures were not followed.”

He further raised his voice, saying, “I believe the decision to withdraw troops from the Gaza Strip, which undermines the momentum of the war and our security interests, was made without even being notified to all wartime ministers, succumbing to international pressure and through discussions of only some wartime ministers.”

Both ministers were key figures in helping Netanyahu’s re-election in December 2022.

If the extreme right-wing political alliance they lead, the Religious Zionist Party, withdraws support for the coalition, the Netanyahu government will collapse.

An Israeli military spokesman announced the previous day that most of the ground forces, except for one brigade, had been withdrawn from the southern Gaza Strip.

However, he did not mention the background of the withdrawal.

Nevertheless, the Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Herzi Halevi, explained, “The war in Gaza Strip continues (even though we have reduced ground forces). We are far from the end of the war and are fighting in a different way than before.”

Minister of Defence of Israel Yoav Gallant said, “The military is being pulled out (from Gaza Strip) and is preparing for the next mission in places like Rafah.”

Speculation has continued to connect the abrupt troop withdrawal of Israel, which had been insisting on a ground battle in Rafah, with ceasefire negotiations and Iranian retaliatory attacks, despite international pressure, including the United States