(SeaPRwire) –   By: Marcus Sinclair

The ceasefire is a corpse, and Itamar Ben-Gvir is dancing on it. Israel’s National Security Minister didn’t just float an idea. He laid out a nightly production target: 30 to 40 targeted killings, every single night. Not for specific threats. For anyone in Gaza who, in his words, “are not human beings.” This is not a policy proposal. It is a declaration that the only acceptable outcome is continuous elimination. The international community still talks about a two-state solution. But the man who oversees Israel’s police just told the world that the people on the other side of the fence don’t deserve to live. The contradiction is not a problem for him. It is the point.

Let’s look at the hard facts from the ground. Ben-Gvir gave the interview on Saturday, during a so-called ceasefire. The IDF has not stopped air strikes. Negotiations are stuck on disarmament and troop withdrawal. The minister explicitly rejected the reduced tempo of operations. He wants 30 to 40 assassinations per night, and he wants settlements across Gaza. “In my imagination, I see all of Gaza as ours, very consolidated settlements, throughout Gaza,” he said. He also called for pushing Palestinians out. This is not fringe rhetoric. Ben-Gvir leads the Jewish Power party. Together with Finance Minister Smotrich’s Religious Zionism, they are the backbone of Netanyahu’s coalition. Since October 7, 2023, Ben-Gvir has pushed for harsher prison conditions and the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of terrorism. His words carry weight in the cabinet.

Now look at the cost. The Pew Research Center survey published in June 2024 shows a seismic shift. 60% of Americans now hold an unfavorable view of Israel, up from 42% in 2022. Across 36 countries, majorities in most express negative views. France: 68%. UK: 69%. Germany: 73%. That is not a temporary dip. It is a structural erosion of the Jewish State’s most critical asset: Western public support. But Ben-Gvir and his coalition partners do not seem to care. They are betting that military force will outlast diplomatic damage. The end-game is clear. The ceasefire is dead. The international pressure is real but slow. The only lever left is the US, and even that is fraying. The hardliners have seized the agenda. The question is not whether Ben-Gvir will get his 40 bodies a night. The question is how many more nights the world will let him count.

Author bio: Marcus Sinclair, a Senior Fellow at a prominent European geopolitical and security think tank