Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid vowed on Saturday to back Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he proceeds with a ceasefire and exchange deal, despite opposition from Netanyahu’s extremist coalition partners.
“I remind Netanyahu that he has our safety net for a hostage deal if Ben Gvir and Smotrich leave the government. The Israeli government cannot ignore President Biden’s important speech,” Lapid said on X. “There is a deal on the table and it should take it.”
On Friday, US President Joe Biden announced that “Israel” had proposed a new plan for achieving a complete ceasefire, which includes the release of captives held in Gaza.
Biden claimed that this is the most effective step toward de-escalating the ongoing war, adding, “With a ceasefire, that aid could be safely and effectively distributed to all who need it.”
“As someone who’s had a lifelong commitment to Israel, as the only American president who has ever gone to Israel at a time of war, as someone who just sent the US forces to directly defend Israel when it was attacked by Iran, I ask you to take a step back, think what will happen if this moment is lost,” he stressed. “We can’t lose this moment.”
“It’s time for this war to end and for the day after to begin,” emphasized Biden, who is under the pressure of an election year and amid the ongoing Israeli aggression, which has persisted for eight months.
Members of Netanyahu’s coalition, namely Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have previously threatened to topple his government if the war concludes without the eradication of the Resistance.
Earlier today, Netanyahu reaffirmed that the elimination of Hamas was a key element of the ceasefire plan outlined by Biden.
Source: AlMayadeen
