Far-right minister 'working to stop' cease-fire talks
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he is "working to stop the negotiations with Hamas," as talks over a cease-fire and hostage release deal continue under massive public and international pressure.
Ben-Gvir -- one of the most vocally hawkish members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government -- wrote on X that Israel should end negotiations and cut fuel and electricity to Gaza in response to Hamas' recent killing of six hostages in the southern strip.
"Continuing the negotiations only spurs them to produce more and more terror," including in the West Bank, Ben-Gvir said.
![](https://i.abcnewsfe.com/a/d634de3d-6c29-4e36-ac88-c7de6859a9fd/Ben-Gvir-file_1725434724864_hpEmbed_3x2.jpg)
Ben-Gvir is a longstanding proponent of expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. He has called on the government to "encourage" Israelis to settle in Gaza while suggesting "voluntary emigration" of Palestinians from the territory.
Ben-Gvir was convicted of incitement to racism and supporting a terror organization in 2008, related to an anti-Arab placard he displayed at a protest following a Palestinian terrorist attack in Jerusalem. Signs referring to the far-right Kach movement -- a Jewish group banned as a terror organization -- were also found in his car.
-ABC News' Guy Davies and David Brennan