Who is Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right minister who resigned from Netanyahu’s Cabinet?
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s far-right national security minister resigned from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet on Sunday to express his disapproval of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
The resignation of Itamar Ben-Gvir does not threaten the ceasefire, but it does weaken Netanyahu’s governing coalition. If other far-right lawmakers leave the government — as Ben-Gvir has encouraged them to do — the prime minister could lose his parliamentary majority, potentially forcing early elections.
It was the latest act of defiance by the 48-year-old ultranationalist settler leader who transformed himself over the decades from an outlaw and provocateur into one of Israel’s most influential politicians.
Here is a closer look at Ben-Gvir:
Why did Ben-Gvir oppose the ceasefire deal?
The ceasefire will pause the war and free dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza. Ben-Gvir opposed the deal because it requires Israel to free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and to withdraw troops from Gaza’s southern border with Egypt — and because it leaves open the possibility of Hamas staying in power in Gaza.
Ahead of the resignation, he said the ceasefire was “reckless” and would “destroy all of Israel’s achievements.”
In his Cabinet post, Ben-Gvir oversaw the country’s police force. He used his influence to encourage Netanyahu to press ahead with the war in Gaza and recently boasted that he had blocked past efforts to reach a ceasefire.
He also has paid multiple visits to Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site — the contested hilltop compound that houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque — including last month. In one such visit in July, he said he came to pray for the return of the hostages “but without a reckless deal, without surrendering.”
The move, while legal, was seen as a provocation, violated a longstanding ban on Jewish prayer there, and threatened to disrupt months of sensitive negotiations. The site is revered by Jews as the Temple Mount.
Run-ins with the law
Ben-Gvir has been convicted eight times for offenses that include racism and supporting a terrorist organization. As a teen, his views were so extreme that the army banned him from compulsory military service.
Ben-Gvir gained notoriety in his youth as a follower of the late racist rabbi Meir Kahane. He first became a national figure when he broke a hood ornament off then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s car in 1995.
“We got to his car, and we’ll get to him too,” he said, just weeks before Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist opposed to his peace efforts with the Palestinians.
Two years later, Ben-Gvir took responsibility for orchestrating a campaign of protests, including death threats, that forced Irish singer Sinead O’Connor to cancel a concert for peace in Jerusalem.
Moving to the mainstream
The political rise of Ben-Gvir was the culmination of years of efforts by the media-savvy lawmaker to gain legitimacy. But it also reflected a rightward shift in the Israeli electorate that brought his religious, ultranationalist ideology into the mainstream and diminished hopes for Palestinian independence.
Ben-Gvir is trained as a lawyer and gained recognition as a successful defense attorney for extremist Jews accused of violence against Palestinians.
With a quick wit and cheerful demeanor, the outspoken Ben-Gvir also became a popular fixture in the media, paving his way to enter politics. He was first elected to parliament in 2021.
Ben-Gvir has called for deporting his political opponents, and in the past has encouraged police to open fire on Palestinian stone-throwers in a tense Jerusalem neighborhood, while brandishing a pistol. As national security minister, he has encouraged police to take a tough line against anti-government protesters.
Controversial minister
Ben-Gvir secured his Cabinet post after 2022 elections that put Netanyahu and his far-right partners, including Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party, into power.
“Over the last year I’ve been on a mission to save Israel,” Ben-Gvir told reporters before that election. “Millions of citizens are waiting for a real right-wing government. The time has come to give them one.”
Ben-Gvir has been a magnet of controversy throughout his tenure — encouraging the mass distribution of handguns to Jewish citizens, backing Netanyahu’s contentious attempt to overhaul the country’s legal system and frequently lashing out at U.S. leaders for perceived slights against Israel.
In May, Ben-Gvir criticized Joe Biden when the U.S. president threatened to withhold certain military aid if Israel invaded Rafah. Ben-Gvir, using a heart emoji in a post on the social media platform X, wrote that Hamas loves Biden.
Political fallout
Ben-Gvir’s departure does not endanger the ceasefire, and Netanyahu still has a narrow parliamentary majority needed to keep power.
But if other hard-liners follow suit, Netanyahu’s government could collapse, which would trigger early elections.
“It’s probable that he has less survival time,” said Shmuel Rosner, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute and analyst for Israeli public television station Kan News.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid has said he will provide a political safety net to Netanyahu to ensure the government will not fall over the deal.
But such a partnership is unlikely to last beyond the ceasefire because the two men do not get along and would have a difficult time working together, said Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst on Israel with the International Crisis Group.