Israel far-right security minister says will vote against Gaza deal

Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir storms Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, Oct. 8, 2025. (Screengrab/Reuters)

• Ben Gvir said the deal proposes releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners

JERUSALEM: Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Thursday he would vote against a US-sponsored Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas as it proposes releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
“The heart of all of us fills with joy... at the fact that all the hostages are expected to return... However, alongside this joy, it is absolutely forbidden to ignore the question of the price: the release of thousands of terrorists, including 250 murderers who are expected to be freed from prisons. This is an unbearable heavy price,” Ben Gvir wrote on X.
“I cannot vote in favor of a deal that releases those murderous terrorists, and we will oppose it in the government,” he said in a statement posted while the Israeli cabinet was voting on the deal.