Palestine Chronicle Staff 
Israel's far-right ministers have warned they will dissolve the government if Prime Minister Netanyahu agrees to the ceasefire proposal announced by President Biden on Friday.
U.S. President Joe Biden announced Friday that Israel has proposed a three-phase plan to Palestinian resistance group Hamas aimed at ending the war in Gaza and securing the release of Israeli prisoners being held there.
Biden called on Hamas to accept the proposal and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to withstand pressure from coalition members who oppose the plan.
Hamas said it was “open to any proposals, including those for a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction efforts, the return of displaced persons and the conclusion of a comprehensive hostage exchange agreement.”
But Prime Minister Netanyahu's office reiterated on Friday that Israel intends to continue its offensive in Gaza until all of Tel Aviv's war objectives have been achieved.
Moreover, Israel's far-right ministers on Saturday threatened to dissolve the government if Netanyahu agreed to the proposal.
“Impossible”: Netanyahu vows no Gaza ceasefire until Hamas is “destroyed”
Roadmap to a permanent ceasefire
In a joint statement, truce mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States called on the parties to conclude the agreement based on the principles of a lasting ceasefire recently outlined by Washington.
“As mediators in the ongoing talks to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and detainees, Qatar, the United States and Egypt jointly call on both Hamas and Israel to conclude an agreement that embodies the principles outlined by President Biden,” the Qatari foreign ministry said in a joint statement on Saturday, citing Biden's Friday night speech on the proposed agreement.
“These principles will bring together the demands of all parties into an agreement that meets their diverse interests and will bring immediate relief to both the long-suffering people of Gaza and the hostages and their families,” the statement added.
The mediators further stressed that “the agreement provides a roadmap for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the crisis.”
“Time for a new phase”: Biden urges Hamas to accept “Israeli overtures”
Dissolve the government
Two far-right Israeli ministers have warned they will resign and disband the coalition government if Netanyahu agrees to a Gaza ceasefire plan presented by Biden on Friday.
“This agreement marks the end of the war and surrender to Hamas,” Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said in a post on X on Saturday.
God loves us – God loves us. One day you’re going to get to live your life. God loves us – God loves us.
One day you will be able to survive your life.Please wait…
— I'm a Muslim (@itamarbengvir) June 1, 2024
“This is a reckless deal, a victory for terrorism and a security threat to the State of Israel,” Ben Gvir added.
Meanwhile, Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to resign from the government if the war ends “without eliminating Hamas,” Israel's Channel 12 reported.
Deal on the table
According to media reports, Israel's war cabinet chief Benny Gantz said on Saturday that the government intended to continue to support the broad outlines of the prisoner exchange agreement drawn up by the negotiating team and unanimously approved by the war cabinet.
He added that the agreement was “part of a broader effort to achieve all war objectives,” the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported.
“We need to convene a war cabinet and negotiating team as soon as possible to work out the next steps,” Gantz said.
“Under President Biden's leadership, the United States has consistently demonstrated its commitment to Israel's security and efforts to return the hostages since the war began. I am deeply grateful for the support of the President and all of our American friends,” Gantz said.
God loves us. God loves us.
God loves us, and we love Him and He loves us.
— Photo by Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) June 1, 2024
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid also called on Saturday on Netanyahu's government to abide by the ceasefire proposal.
“The Israeli government cannot ignore President Biden's important speech in which he laid out this proposal,” Yair Lapid wrote on X.
“There is an agreement on the table and it needs to be accepted,” Lapid added.
“If Ben Gvir and Smotrich leave the government, we want to remind Netanyahu that we are providing him with a safety net for a hostage deal,” the opposition leader said.
Israel's Rejection
On May 6, Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh told negotiators that Hamas had announced it would accept a ceasefire proposal for the besieged Gaza Strip.
Hamas later said that “after the movement took the decision out of concern for our people and their supreme interests, the necessary measures to ensure the implementation of the agreement were also considered.”
Hamas accepts ceasefire proposal – breaking news
“Now is the time for the occupying forces to seize this opportunity and agree to the proposals presented,” the statement added.
However, Israel rejected the agreement, deciding instead to press ahead with its invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Gaza massacre
Israel, currently on trial at the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, has been waging a devastating war against Gaza since October 7th.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the Israeli massacre in Gaza that began on October 7 has left 36,379 Palestinians dead and 82,407 injured.
At least 7,000 more people are still missing and are believed to have died under the rubble of their homes across the rubble area.
Palestinian and international organizations say the majority of the dead and wounded are women and children.
Gaza massacre – relentless bombings cause rising civilian casualties
Israel's war caused a severe famine, mainly in northern Gaza, that killed many Palestinians, mainly children.
The Israeli invasion forced nearly two million people to flee the entire Gaza Strip, most of them to the densely populated southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt, in the largest Palestinian exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel announced that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed in Operation Al-Aqsa Flooding on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis died that day from “friendly fire.”
(PC, Anadolu Agency, Press Agency)
