Israel and Hamas’s historic ceasefire agreement could have come a lot sooner, according to Israeli leadership.
The text of the ceasefire agreement, which was released Wednesday, shares copious similarities with the last ceasefire agreement brokered between Israel and Palestine in May, including mirrored proposals for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the “densely populated areas along the borders in all areas of the Gaza strip” and the release of 1,000 Gazan detainees that were not involved in the events of October 7.
Israel National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir practically boasted about successfully sabotaging ceasefire agreements over the last year, posting on X Tuesday that “through our political power, we succeeded in preventing this deal from moving forward time and time again.”
“However, since then, additional elements have been added to the government, who now support the deal and no longer constitute a balancing act,” he continued, referring to Israel’s United Right Party, which grew from 64 to 68 Knesset members, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Still, Ben-Gvir torched the ceasefire as a “terrible deal,” imploring his opponents to join him in rejecting it yet again while advocating for Israel’s continued siege on Palestine.
“Along with this, I call on the Prime Minister to come to his senses and take steps that will lead to the defeat of Hamas and the release of our hostages without abandoning Israel’s security: completely stop the transfer of humanitarian aid and fuel, electricity, and water to Gaza, along with continuing the military crushing of Hamas until its complete defeat,” Ben-Gvir wrote.
But the defense minister’s plea was not received well by other Israeli politicians.
“For a year now, I’ve been saying that you have been preventing a hostage deal from materializing for political gain,” responded opposition leader Yair Lapid, calling Ben-Gvir’s comments a “terrible truth.”
Donald Trump jumped to claim credit for brokering the ceasefire moments after it was announced on Wednesday, despite the fact that he was not in office for the duration of the conflict. But his instinct may not be far off: a diplomat briefed on the negotiations credited their sudden progress to the incoming 47th president, reported The Washington Post.
Trump warned last week that “all hell” would break loose if the two nations did not reach a cease-fire agreement by the time he returned to the White House on January 20. That was, apparently, the “first time there has been real pressure on the Israeli side to accept a deal,” the diplomat told the newspaper.
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