Netanyahu Faces Cease-Fire, Split Cabinet as Blinken Visits
- Far-right partners threaten to break up government over deal
- Centrist partners say hostage release must come above all
Antony Blinken meets with demonstrators seeking the return of the hostages held by Hamas, outside his hotel in Tel Aviv, on May 1.
Photographer: Amir Levy/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
As the US Secretary of State worked toward a Gaza cease-fire on a visit to Israel Wednesday, a major Tel Aviv newspaper offered a front-page summary of his challenge: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with key cabinet colleagues and the headline “Who’s in charge here?”
On one side was hard-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir saying if Israel doesn’t invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Netanyahu “understands perfectly well what that means.” On the other were centrist ministers labeling that “blackmail.”