Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Settlements Minister Orit Strook demanded Prime Minister Netanyahu convene an immediate re-vote in the Security Cabinet on the entry of the International Stabilization Force (ISF) into Gaza, according to reports by Moriah Asraf and Doron Kadosh (N13/Army Radio) and Amichai Stein (i24NEWS). The ministers claimed the cabinet decision was based on false information and that the Peace Council's roadmap document endangers Israel by contradicting the disarmament of Hamas.
As of Monday 16:17 Jerusalem, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Settlements Minister Orit Strook are demanding that Prime Minister Netanyahu convene an immediate re-vote in the Security Cabinet on the entry of the International Stabilization Force (ISF) into Gaza. The demand, reported by Moriah Asraf and Doron Kadosh (N13/Army Radio) and Amichai Stein (i24NEWS), claims that the cabinet approved the ISF's entry on false information and that the Gaza Peace Council's roadmap endangers Israel by contradicting the goal of disarming Hamas. It marks the latest escalation in a sequence The Zioneer has tracked since Monday 16:10, when the ministers first urged Netanyahu to stop the force's entry, then to cancel the decision, and then to hold an emergency cabinet session.
In a burst of updates that began Monday 16:10, The Zioneer first cited unnamed reports that the cabinet decision rested on false information; a second update said the ministers were demanding the decision be canceled, with other government ministers also appealing urgently to Netanyahu; a third detailed a letter listing seven objections — that the disarmament plan is not genuine, that heavy weapons would remain under Palestinian control, and that the ISF's role had shifted from disarming terror groups to separating IDF forces from the Palestinian administration. The current update sharpens the sourcing, naming Asraf, Kadosh, and Stein where earlier updates carried no named reporters.
The ISF is a multinational body responsible for civilian and security stabilization in Gaza, operating under strict Israeli security conditions and legal immunity, as The Zioneer reported on Sunday, July 26. The dispute centers on the U.S.-led Peace Council's roadmap, published Friday, July 31. That day, The Zioneer reported the roadmap requires Hamas and other factions to hand heavy weapons, rockets, production sites, and tunnels to council custody — stored inside Gaza under Palestinian control, not transferred to Israel or any non-Palestinian entity — and that the council's plan calls for full Israeli withdrawal and an immediate halt to military operations. On Saturday, August 1, The Zioneer reported the roadmap includes an international verification committee and phased IDF withdrawal, with the ISF managing a buffer zone between Israeli forces and areas under NCAG (the coalition tasked with administering Gaza) control — the separation role the ministers now cite. On Monday, June 15, The Zioneer quoted Smotrich saying, 'The agreement is bad for Israel. Period,' and vowing to continue the campaign to topple the regime 'in creative ways.'
What remains open: the reports do not specify what 'false information' the ministers say reached the cabinet, and they include no response from the Prime Minister's Office or the Security Cabinet. The claims are the ministers' accusations, not independently confirmed facts. Whether a re-vote will actually be convened, and how other government ministers will position themselves beyond those already reported to have appealed to Netanyahu, remains unverified.
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