After the Deal: Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit Party Withdraws from the Government; Smotrich to Stay for Now

Following the government’s approval of the hostage deal, political shifts within Netanyahu’s coalition are leading to potential crisis and new elections in Israel.

As promised, Otzma Yehudit party leader, Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, announced that tomorrow (Sunday) all ministers from his party will resign from the government, and party members in the Knesset will step down from their coalition roles.

The coalition now drops to 62 seats, with the majority becoming more fragile. This shift could work in favor of the Frum parties like Shas and UTJ who will likely pressure the coalition to pass the budget in order to pass a proper IDF draft law.

For now, Minister Bezalel Smotrich and his Religious Zionist Party remain in the government under conditions. Smotrich explained his decision in a statement, criticizing the deal: “The prime minister has given the green light to a disastrous, catastrophic deal. A deal that threatens Israel’s national security and reverses many of the achievements made during the war.”

Smotrich and his ministers voted against the deal, but he decided to stay in the government, emphasizing that they fought and succeeded in ensuring the war would continue until all its goals were achieved, especially the complete destruction of Hamas in Gaza.

Smotrich further stated, “We demanded and received a commitment to completely change the way the war is being conducted, in order to achieve a decisive victory by gradually taking control of the entire Gaza, removing the restrictions imposed by the Biden administration, and ensuring that humanitarian aid does not reach Hamas as it did before. This is the only way to achieve the war’s objectives: the destruction of Hamas and the return of all our hostages.”

He also claimed that he had received a commitment from the IDF to take action against terrorism in Judea and Samaria to prevent attacks and to prevent Hamas from strengthening within communities near central Israel.

However, Smotrich’s potential resignation from the government is still on the table. He warned, “If the war in Gaza does not continue, we will not accept any excuses on this matter. We will not sit in a government that halts the war and does not continue until a complete victory over Hamas.”

In response to Ben-Gvir’s resignation, Prime Minister Netanyahu hinted tonight that, as the inauguration of President Trump approaches, it is not the time to break apart the right-wing government, but rather to unite it in order to achieve significant results with the Trump administration.