A far-right Israeli minister has blasted a plan by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to gradually expand military operations in Gaza, calling it a “foolish” half-measure that would undermine efforts to defeat the militant group.
Israel’s security cabinet approved a decision by a majority vote early Friday for the military to prepare to take control of Gaza City as a first step. But those preparations are expected to take weeks or months, potentially leaving open options for a diplomatic maneuver that would halt or reverse the military operation.
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s hard-line finance minister, said in a video statement on Saturday night that he did not support the decision. He called on Mr. Netanyahu to reconvene the security cabinet and pledge to go for a “sharp, clear path” to a decisive victory over Hamas with “no more stops in the middle.”
The comments by Mr. Smotrich could once again threaten the stability of Mr. Netanyahu’s increasingly fractious and tenuous coalition government. Mr. Smotrich and another right-wing minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, have repeatedly vowed to leave the coalition if Mr. Netanyahu relented on his tough line on Gaza and Hamas.
Mr. Smotrich said that the prime minister had assured him of “a dramatic plan” to defeat Hamas by means of a “lightning-fast military victory.”
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