Ben-Gvir’s party rejoins Israeli government amid Gaza onslaught

"The Likud and Otzma Yehudit have agreed that the Otzma Yehudit faction will return to the Israeli government today,” the Likud said in a statement.

Ben-Gvir, a former national security minister, had resigned from the government in January in protest of a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with the Palestinian group Hamas.

The far-right party holds six seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Its return serves as a lifeline for Netanyahu, as the deadline for the Knesset to approve the state budget bill approaches.

Netanyahu needs Ben-Gvir to pass the state budget bill in the government before the end of the month, as required by law.

According to Israeli law, the government automatically falls if the state budget bill is not approved by the end of the month.

The Israeli army pounded the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing at least 404 people and injuring hundreds, breaking the ceasefire agreement that took effect on Jan. 19.

More than 48,500 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 112,000 others injured in a brutal Israeli military campaign in Gaza since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.