Far-right politicians in Israel against ceasefire with Hezbollah

Far-right politicians in Jerusalem have sharply criticized a possible ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah militia.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionist Party, posted on Thursday on X: “The campaign in the north should end in one scenario – crushing Hezbollah and denying its ability to harm the residents of [Israel’s] north.”

“The enemy must not be given time to recover from the heavy blows he received and to reorganize for the continuation of the war after 21 days,” Smotrich wrote.

Smotrich added: “Hezbollah’s surrender or war, that’s the only way we will return the residents and security to the north and the country.”

The right-wing extremist Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, led by hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, called an emergency meeting in response to reports in the Israeli media of a possible ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is dependant on his far-right coalition partners for his political survival.