“It’s unpleasant to admit, but Netanyahu will push for a deal only when the streets are burning,” the minister told Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper.
“Right now, he fears [hard-Right ministers Itamar] Ben-Gvir and [Bezalel] Smotrich more than he fears the families of the hostages.”
Netanyahu accused of sabotaging talks
Mr Netanyahu has been accused of deliberately making a ceasefire deal with Hamas impossible, after hard-Right cabinet members threatened to leave his coalition should he agree one.
Some Israelis therefore believe Mr Netanyahu is sabotaging the talks by setting demands he knows Hamas won’t agree to.
The biggest sticking point in the negotiations is who will remain in control of a buffer zone separating Gaza from Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.