Ben Gvir calls to disband war cabinet if Gaza assault scaled back

Israel has shown no indication that it plans to follow US demands and reduce 

the war’s intensity by January

News Desk

DEC 21, 2023

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called on 21 December for the disbanding of the war cabinet in the event that the intensity of the Gaza assault is reduced in the coming weeks.

“If anyone intends, God forbid, to halt the IDF before Hamas has been defeated and all the hostages have been returned, he should take into account that Otzma Yehudit will not be with him,” the minister said. 

“The idea of reducing activity in Gaza is a failure of war management by the small [war] cabinet. It should be dismantled immediately. The time has come to restore the reins to the wider [security] cabinet.”

Ben Gvir’s comments come as Washington continues to request that the intensity of the Israeli ground war on Gaza be reduced within the coming weeks. US officials are said to be continuously advising Tel Aviv to avoid civilian casualties to maintain international support for the war. Nonetheless, the US has pledged to continue sending weapons to support the Israeli war effort. 

Contrary to the security minister’s concerns, Tel Aviv has shown no indication that it plans to follow US advice and switch to a lower-intensity phase of the war by January. 

Sources in Geneva told Al-Mayadeen on 19 December that “Israeli officials have disclosed to some UN-affiliated organizations operating in Gaza that the war will continue for at least two more months at the current intensity, and perhaps even longer.”

This is not the first time the national security minister has made such threats. 

Towards the end of the seven-day truce in late November, Ben Gvir threatened to collapse the government if war against the Palestinian resistance in Gaza did not resume. 

“Stopping the war = dissolution of the government,” the Jewish supremacist party leader warned on social media. 

Meanwhile, Israel is no closer to its stated goal of “eradicating” Hamas. On 21 December, dozens of Palestinian rockets struck Tel Aviv, indicating that military capabilities of the Qassam Brigades and other groups fighting in Gaza are still intact after 75 days of war. 

https://new.thecradle.co/articles/ben-gvir-calls-to-disband-war-cabinet-if-gaza-assault-scaled-back