After Ben-Gvir’s party withdrawal, ruling coalition still survives with 62 parliamentary seats
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — The far-right Jewish Strength (Otzma Yehudit) Party of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir resigned from the Israeli government on Sunday as a Gaza cease-fire agreement took effect.
Ben-Gvir and other ministers from his party submitted their resignation letters to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Haaretz reported.
“From this time onwards the Otzma Yehudit Party is not a member of the coalition,” the party said in a statement.
It attributed the resignations to the government’s decision to approve the Gaza cease-fire agreement and the release of hundreds of Palestinians from Israeli jails.
After Ben-Gvir’s party withdrawal, the ruling coalition still survives with 62 parliamentary seats in the 120-seat Knesset.
On Saturday, 24 ministers in the government approved the Gaza cease-fire and prisoner exchange agreement while eight rejected it.
The cease-fire agreement took effect at 11.15 a.m. local time (0915GMT) on Sunday after a few hours delay due to Israeli accusations for Hamas of delaying the release of a list of captives set to be released. It was originally scheduled to start on 8.30 a.m. local time (0630GMT)
Nearly 47,000 people have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 110,700 others injured in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, according to local health authorities. — AA
