JERUSALEM: The largest coalition partner of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Tuesday that it would back any prospective agreement to release hostages from Hamas captivity, even if it meant changing Israel’s approach to the Gaza War.
The ultra-Orthodox Jewish party Shas, which has 11 of the 120 seats in parliament, followed a similar statement on Monday by Yitzhak Goldknopf, the head of United Torah Judaism, the second-largest party in the coalition with seven seats.
“Our position is that there is nothing greater than the value of life and the commandment to redeem captives, because their lives face a real and present danger,” Goldknopf, Israel’s housing minister, said in a statement.
Shas also promised “full support” for the initiative, citing a religious obligation. It urged Netanyahu and his war cabinet to “withstand all pressures for the end of returning the hostages.
The two parties’ combined backing, which accounts for 18 of the 72 members under Netanyahu’s extended emergency cabinet, may be able to offset far-right allies’ resistance to a US-backed plan to end the Gaza war.
Opponents of the agreement, the Religious Zionism party of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and the Jewish Power party of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir hold 13 seats and have threatened to withdraw from the cabinet over the agreement.
Netanyahu has said that Israel will not cease the war until dismantling Hamas while Hamas insists that any agreement must end Israel’s offensive against it in Gaza.
A survey released on Sunday by public broadcaster Kan shows that 40 percent of Israelis support the ceasefire plan proposed by US President Joe Biden, while 27 percent are opposed and 33 percent are undecided.
