Netanyahu faces a crisis after the decision to bring fuel into Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing major objections from the extreme right to the decision to bring limited quantities of fuel into the Gaza Strip at an American request, while Reuters quoted the White House as saying that Washington believes that sending fuel should continue on a regular basis and in larger quantities.

Israel and American officials said – yesterday, Friday – that the Israeli war government agreed to allow the entry of 140,000 liters of fuel every two days into Gaza after a request from Washington, amid a severe shortage that threatens the delivery of humanitarian aid and communications in the besieged Strip.

Six weeks ago, Israel imposed a strict blockade on all goods entering the Gaza Strip in conjunction with its ongoing attack on it after the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation on October 7, which to date has left tens of thousands of martyrs and wounded and massive destruction in residential neighborhoods, vital facilities and hospitals. .

After American and international pressure and calls, Israel agreed to allow the entry of a few aid trucks after inspecting them, and a small amount of fuel was allowed to enter last Wednesday, so that the aid delivery trucks of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) would remain able to work.

“minimum”

The head of the Israeli National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, said yesterday, Friday, that the introduction of fuel into Gaza will begin this evening, adding that they will not allow a single drop of fuel to enter northern Gaza, except after the elimination of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

He added that the amount of fuel that will enter Gaza represents 3% of what was entering daily before the war.

While an Israeli official – who requested that his name not be published – stated that two trucks would be allowed to enter daily to meet the needs of the United Nations, but he said that the amount would provide “minimal” support to Gaza’s water and sanitation networks to prevent the spread of epidemics.

An official from the US State Department, providing more details, said that Israel had committed to allowing the entry of 120,000 liters of fuel every 48 hours to fuel UNRWA trucks and to meet other needs, such as desalinating salt water, sewage pumps, bakeries, and hospitals, in the southern Gaza Strip.

According to promises, an additional 20,000 liters will be allowed in every two days to operate the generators of a telecommunications company that warned that its mobile phone services are on the verge of stopping due to a lack of fuel.

American officials have been pressuring Israel to allow the entry of fuel for some time. But the State Department official said that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had contacted members of the Israeli war cabinet – last Wednesday – and warned that the fuel shortage threatened the risk of a humanitarian crisis among Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.

Opposition to the extreme right

The approval to deliver fuel sparked strong opposition from some members of the far-right coalition in the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also leads the war council formed after Israel’s war on Gaza.

Netanyahu called the small ministerial team for security and political affairs to a meeting today, Saturday, against the backdrop of dissatisfaction among members of the ruling right-wing coalition with the war council’s decision to bring fuel trucks into Gaza.

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir criticized the decision to bring fuel into Gaza, saying – in a post on the X platform – that the Military Cabinet is once again making political decisions that lead Israel to a wrong perception, as he put it.

Ben Gvir considered this decision to be “a finger in the eye of the Israeli army,” and that political decisions must be made by the expanded Council of Ministers.

On the other hand, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said – in a strongly worded letter addressed to Netanyahu – that the decision to allow the entry of fuel was a grave mistake. Smotrich leads one of the nationalist religious parties in the government coalition.

He added in a statement, “Consent indicates weakness. It provides the enemy with oxygen,” as he put it.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted Smotrich as demanding that Netanyahu change the composition of the war government after the decision to bring fuel into the Strip.

Meanwhile, other members of the ruling coalition and the Likud Party called for confronting American pressure regarding the entry of fuel into Gaza, and said that this would prolong the life of the Hamas movement, as they put it.