Netanyahu Faces Political Turmoil Over Israeli Proposal for Hostages Exchange and Gaza War End

A report by Amale Chehadeh, English adaptation by Nadine Sassine

Since US President Joe Biden revealed the Israeli proposal for hostage exchange negotiations, urging its implementation to end the war in Gaza, the Israeli political arena has been witnessing a conflict between parties that reject the proposal and those that want to implement it.

In this context, far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have threatened to withdraw from the government if the proposal is approved, while War Cabinet member Benny Gantz hinted that he would retract his threat to leave the government if the proposal is implemented. This division has placed Netanyahu in a state of confusion, described by some as a trap.

Netanyahu, who has not backed down from his position of not ending the war without achieving its objectives, whether against Hamas or regarding the hostages, faces various potential scenarios. If he agrees to the proposal, War Cabinet members Benny Gantz and Gadi Eizenkot will retract their decision to withdraw from the government, which means moving forward together towards a near deal. On the other hand, this approval would lead to the withdrawal of ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich from the government without dissolving it, especially after opposition leader Yair Lapid announced the possibility of joining the government coalition.

If Gantz follows through with his threat to withdraw, the 64-member coalition supporting the war and rejecting the proposal for early parliamentary elections will stand united. Meanwhile, the opposition will seek to escalate its protests to dissolve the government and bring forward the election date. In this case, it is expected that military and security officials will resign while the war continues.

Netanyahu thus faces two options: either proceed with the deal, bringing Israel out of international isolation and into the center of a regional alliance, or continue to stall, attempting to shift the blame to Hamas by pushing it to reject the proposal, thereby securing the cards that ensure the continuation of his government and the ongoing war as planned.