Overview
- On August 3, 2026 Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Minister Orit Strock sent an urgent letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanding the Security Cabinet reconvene and that Israel refuse the published roadmap in its current form.
- The ministers say the Peace Council document differs materially from the text discussed in Security Cabinet meetings and therefore the Cabinet’s earlier decisions rest on information that no longer matches the published framework.
- They object to specific provisions that would transfer weapons to a new Palestinian authority instead of removing or destroying them, and to language that would allow a phased Israeli withdrawal before demilitarization is complete.
- Smotrich and Strock also argue the ISF’s mission is reshaped from actively countering terrorist groups to acting as a buffer between the IDF and a new Gaza governing body, and they demand the force be barred from entering Gaza until its mandate is clarified.
- If the ministers’ demands hold, the dispute could delay ISF deployment and reconstruction work in Gaza and deepen divisions within Netanyahu’s coalition over security, legal oversight, and the role of international verification.