Israel delays Cabinet meeting to ratify Gaza deal as Smotrich threatens to leave government

JERUSALEM

A scheduled meeting of Israel’s Security Cabinet on Thursday to ratify a Gaza cease-fire deal was postponed as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tries to convince his finance minister not to withdraw from the government over the agreement, Israeli media said.

The Cabinet meeting was scheduled to take place on Thursday to ratify the cease-fire agreement.

But Netanyahu’s office said the planned meeting was postponed, without giving another date, claiming that the move was taken after Hamas reneged on the cease-fire deal announced by mediators.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said the meeting was delayed as Netanyahu was trying to convince Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich not to withdraw from the government over the deal.

According to The Jerusalem Post newspaper, Smotrich’s Religious Zionism Party held a meeting on Thursday morning to discuss the Gaza cease-fire deal and whether the party will stay in the government.

Hamas on Thursday denied Netanyahu’s claims about reneging on the deal and confirmed its commitment to the cease-fire agreement.

Qatar announced on Wednesday a cease-fire agreement to end over 15 months of deadly Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the 3-phase deal will be effective on Sunday.

The deal includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

More than 46,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children were killed and over 110,000 others injured in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, according to local health authorities.

The war has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara