Coalition lawmakers welcomed far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision on Sunday, March 2, to not let any more aid enter Gaza, citing Hamas’s refusal to accept what Israel said was an American proposal to extend the ceasefire agreement’s first phase, which expired at midnight after 42 days.
“Stop Gaza starvation”, Hadash activists’ demonstration near the Israeli army headquarters in Tel-Aviv, Sunday, March 2, 2025 (Photo: Zo Haderekh)
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has threatened to topple the government should it proceed to the second phase, wrote on X that Netanyahu’s decision “to completely halt the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza until Hamas is destroyed or completely surrenders and all our hostages are returned is an important step in the right direction.” Israel needs to open the “gates of hell as quickly and in as deadly a manner as possible until complete victory” is achieved, wrote racist Smotrich, paraphrasing President Trump’s repeated threats against Hamas if it failed to release the hostages.
Zionist opposition leaders — The Democrats’ (Labor and Meretz parties) Yair Golan, Yesh Atid’s MK Yair Lapid, Yisrael Beytenu’s MK Avigdor Liberman and National Unity’s MK Benny Gantz — refrained from speaking out about the decision. Meanwhile, Hadash lawmakers and civil society groups warned it would harm civilians and hostages in Gaza, and assailed Netanyahu for refusing to negotiate the second phase of the ceasefire.
MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash) wrote on X that Netanyahu’s decision is a war crime that “violates the ceasefire agreement and punishes not just the Palestinians — who are honoring the agreement — but also the hostages who are being abandoned to die in cruel captivity.” “The government of Israel has been waging a continuous genocidal ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people, in Gaza and recently in the occupied West bank too. The international community must do whatever possible to stop those criminal atrocities. Now!”, agreed.
According to Hadash MK Aida Touma-Sliman, “Netanyahu’s government is now pursuing a policy of starvation against the people of Gaza – a war crime. Netanyahu has broken the deal and its stated commitment to negotiate a second phase. The only way to release all hostages and prisoners, and to reconstruct Gaza, is through a diplomatic compromise. Netanyahu and Trump want a forever war.”
“With Trump’s backing, the Israeli prime minister is allowing himself a free reign in Gaza – and in Lebanon. Knowing that his political survival is on the line, sacrificing the hostages and exposing IDF soldiers to life-threatening situations is a price he’s willing to pay”, wrote Amos Harel in Haaretz. “These are dangerous gambles that could reignite the war or even start new conflicts.”
On Sunday evening, thousands of protesters broke down police barricades and lit flares during a sit-in outside Netanyahu’s house in Jerusalem, in protest of the government’s stalling the negotiations over a cease-fire deal with Hamas. One demonstrator was detained by police.
“Don’t you dare sabotage the deal,” the organizers wrote in a press statement before the gathering. “This evening proves that the public won’t stay quiet. While Netanyahu and [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich care more about political calculations than human lives, thousands hit the streets to remind them of their main obligation – bringing all the hostages back home,” they wrote. During the demonstration Partnership for Peace protesters, among them Hadash activists, called “No transfer, no to starvation, refuse to serve in the war” and “No to massacres, we refuse to be criminals.” At the same hour and under the banner “Stop Gaza starvation”, Hadash activists’ demonstrated near the Israeli army headquarters in Tel-Aviv
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=32488
