Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu rebuked National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir during a heated Israeli cabinet discussion on the death penalty for terrorists late Thursday night, telling him "Do you want to manage?! First you will be elected prime minister," according to a first publication by Amiel Yarchi on i24 News between 4:16 PM and 5:47 PM UTC on December 13, 2025. The argument erupted as Ben Gvir pushed his proposed law on executing terrorists despite ongoing advanced treatment of similar legislation by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, with Levin objecting that the process lacked dialogue with his office and accusing Ben Gvir of bypassing prosecutorial efforts on October 7 attackers, as reported by Yarchi. Netanyahu intervened to halt the shouting, stating "I am not ready for such a discussion, cease fire." Levin emphasized that treatment of October 7 raiders was progressing via a prosecutor's office bill by Rothman and Malinovsky, while Ben Gvir countered that Levin had not read their law. Other ministers weighed in, with Gideon Sa'ar supporting the death penalty due to repeated prisoner releases undermining life sentences, Avi Dichter noting past opportunities for executions, and Ze'ev Elkin calling for a more serious cabinet discussion on the prime minister's proposal to prevent kidnappings spurred by the law. Netanyahu urged ministers to reach an agreement before he departed for another meeting, saying "try to reach an agreement, if not come to me and I will agree," amid additional exchanges including support from the Yoamshit for Levin's position against unprepared in-depth discussion, per Yarchi's report over the past 90 minutes.
