Two of Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-Right coalition allies on Saturday night threatened to quit the government if he goes ahead with the truce deal outlined by Joe Biden.
The US president announced on Friday that Israel had offered a new roadmap towards a full ceasefire including the release of hostages held by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
But Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, said his party would “dissolve the government” if the deal went through, describing the proposal as “a victory for terrorism and a security risk to the State of Israel”.
“Agreeing to such a deal is not total victory – but total defeat,” he said.
Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, said he would “not be part of a government that will agree to the proposed outline”.
“We demand the continuation of the war until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages return,” Mr Smotrich said, adding that he opposes the return of displaced Gazans to the territory’s north – one of the stages of the plan announced by Biden – as well as the “wholesale release of terrorists”.
Earlier on Saturday, Mr Netanyahu insisted that the destruction of Hamas was part of the Israeli plan laid out by Biden.
The Israeli prime minister also called a permanent ceasefire in Gaza a “non-starter” until long-standing conditions for ending the war are met, appearing to undermine the proposal.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid vowed to offer Netanyahu “our safety net for a hostage deal if Ben Gvir and Smotrich leave the government”.
The prime minister is facing growing political pressure over the war.
Without the support of Mr Ben Gvir and Mr Smotrich’s parties, Mr Netanyahu’s coalition could lose its majority in parliament.
It comes after Benny Gantz, a member of Mr Netanyahu’s war cabinet, on Friday submitted a bill to dissolve Israel’s government to unseat the prime minister.
Mr Netanyahu on Friday insisted that “Israel’s conditions for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel. Under the proposal, Israel will continue to insist these conditions are met before a permanent ceasefire is put in place.”
The US president on Friday asserted that Hamas militants are “no longer capable” of carrying out a large-scale attack on Israel like the one on October 7. He urged Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement to release about 100 remaining hostages, along with the bodies of around 30 more, for an extended ceasefire.
The first phase of the deal described by Mr Biden would last for six weeks and include a “full and complete ceasefire,” a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages, including women, older people and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The second phase would include the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The third phase calls for the start of a major reconstruction of Gaza, which faces decades of rebuilding from the war’s devastation.
Mr Biden acknowledged that keeping the proposal on track would be difficult, with “details to negotiate” to move from the first phase to the second. Mr Biden said if Hamas fails to fulfil its commitment under the deal, Israel can resume military operations.
Hamas has said it viewed the proposal “positively” and called on Israel to declare an explicit commitment to an agreement that includes a permanent cease-fire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, a prisoner exchange and other conditions.
