Israel delays vote to approve Gaza ceasefire deal
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Hello, I'm Katya Adler, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. Each weekday, we break down one big news story with fresh perspectives from journalists around the world. From artificial intelligence to divisive politics tearing our societies apart, from the movements of money and markets to the human stories that touch our lives, we bring you in-depth insights from across the BBC and beyond. Listen to the Global Story wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Valerie Sanderson, and in the early hours of Friday, the 17th of January, these are our main stories. Israel's far-right National Security Minister, Itamir Ben-Gavir, threatens to resign from the government over the Gaza ceasefire deal. We hear from Israel and Gaza on people's fears for their future, with the agreement due to be ratified by Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition on Friday. In Cuba, the jailed dissident, José Daniel Ferrer, is released from prison. Also in this podcast, North Korea opens its borders to tourists from places other than Russia. And we meet the volunteers who are working to clean up the Ugandan capital.
There is no proper system where we separate the plastic from the food materials and from the metallic kind of stuff.
There have been serious disagreements in Israel's cabinet ahead of a vote to approve the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal. The vote is due to take place on Friday, a day later than expected. But Israel's far-right security minister, Itamar Ben-Gavir, has said he'll resign if the government approves the deal, describing it as a reward for Hamas.
The current deal gives them greater appetite, gives Hamas more motivation. This deal teaches them that they can kidnap and abuse and hurt, and finally, ultimately, get what they want. I think that the release of the hostages should be done in another way. We should stop completely the humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Humanitarian only if we get the hostages back.
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, says he's confident the six-week truce, during which Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners are to be freed, would begin on Sunday as planned. I asked our Middle East regional editor, Seb Asher, for more details on Mr Ben-Gavir's statement and what impact it may have.
I mean, in one sense, you could almost say he's not breaking ranks, that this is expected. I mean, Itamar Ben-Gavir, the national security minister, with the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, they're both very much to the right in the coalition. They have both expressed... very strong views about any deal in the past. And they have in the lead up to this deal as well. Essentially, they want to hold them as supporters, want to hold the Israeli government to what Benjamin Netanyahu has promised time and time again, which is essentially that his goal is the total elimination, the total destruction of Hamas. And they feel that this deal doesn't do that. and that Israel must have the right again, as Mr Netanyahu said time and time again, and it's been a big stumbling block in getting a deal, that Israel must, after any ceasefire, have the ability, if it needs to for security reasons, to go back into Gaza and carry out military operations against what's left of Hamas.
And what effect do you think this might have on the ceasefire deal, which has not yet been ratified by the Israeli cabinet?
That's difficult. I mean, I think the general view would be that the deal will still go ahead. Certainly in the cabinet, Netanyahu will have the votes. He had six centrist members of a party join the coalition quite recently, and that has strengthened his position. Whereas before, what Ben-Gavir and Smotrich might do might bring down the government immediately, that isn't the case at the moment.
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Speakers
15 identified
Unattributed (Guest) 8 min
Valerie Sanderson 6 min
Seb Asher 3 min
Rushdie Abu-Aloof 2 min
Celia Hatton 2 min
Will Ross 2 min
Unknown Gaza Correspondent 2 min
Elodie Capet 1 min
Katya Adler 1 min
Mustafa Al Qadri 1 min
Sarah Rainsford 1 min
Cindy Crawford 1 min
Unknown Gaza Reporter
Unknown Gaza Resident
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