Ben Gvir threatens to exit coalition if Netanyahu okays Lebanon ceasefire

Israel National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Thursday threatened to withdraw his party, Otzma Yehudit, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government if he agrees to a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Gvir said that his party will not cooperate with the coalition in the Knesset.

The National Security Minister's statement comes at the conclusion of an "urgent" party meeting by Ben-Gvir after reports emerged that Netanyahu was considering a 21-day ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.

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He further stressed that if the temporary ceasefire becomes permanent, he will leave the government completely.

"The most basic and obvious thing is that when your enemy is on his knees, you do not enable him to recuperate, but act to defeat and rout him. And if you do not do so, you project weakness, endanger the security of your citizens, and prove that you have no intention to be victorious," Ben-Gvir said in a statement.

If a temporary ceasefire is signed, Otzma Yehudit would "relieve itself of any commitment to the coalition," including voting in the Knesset, attending government and security cabinet meetings, and any other "coalition activity."

And if it becomes permanent, Ben-Gvir said, "all ministers and MKs from Otzma Yehudit will resign from the government and coalition."

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The minister has used this tactic in the past too, recently in June, when he threatened to quit the government if Netanyahu agreed to a "reckless" hostage deal. This idea of him has been working since many times.

Israel's military on Thursday also said that they are carrying out strikes in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

A security source told Reuters that Israel targeted a "senior Hezbollah leader" in a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs.

(With inputs from agencies)