Israel's Ben-Gvir to vote against Lebanon cease-fire deal while staying in government

While avoiding to threaten resignation, far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Tuesday that he will vote against a cease-fire proposal with Lebanon.

“I will vote against the (cease-fire) agreement today and I will try to convince the ministers to vote against it,” Ben-Gvir told Israel's Army Radio.

“We need to hear the voices of the people of the north who say we have failed to achieve the war goal of bringing them back safely,” he said.

Asked about his previous threat to resign from the ruling coalition in case of a cease-fire with Lebanon, the extremist minister denied that he had threatened to quit the government.

On Monday, Ben-Gvir called a US-backed cease-fire proposal with Hezbollah a “grave mistake.”

The Israeli Cabinet is scheduled to meet later Tuesday to vote on a cease-fire deal with Lebanon.

According to Israeli daily Maariv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have a majority in the cabinet to approve the cease-fire deal.

Israeli media reported early Monday that a cease-fire deal is expected to be announced between Israel and Hezbollah within two days.

Lebanese parliamentarian Qassem Hashem also said on Monday that a cease-fire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel is nearing completion and could be declared within the next 36 hours if negotiations proceed smoothly.

“The atmosphere is positive, and cease-fire discussions have reached an advanced stage. It's only a matter of hours before an agreement is finalized and announced if progress continues as expected,” Hashem told Anadolu.

Israel has escalated its airstrikes in Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets as part of year-long warfare against the Lebanese group since the start of the Gaza war last year.

More than 3,760 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon, with nearly 15,700 injured and over a million displaced since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Israel on Oct. 1 this year expanded the conflict by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara