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A SPLIT has emerged in the Is­raeli government between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and key ministers over the handling of Hamas.
A day after Netanyahu personally decided on a ceasefire with Hamas, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel should not have ended the war in Gaza.

The split comes as an opinion poll shows that 54  percent of Israelis believe neither side won the war.

Lieberman branded Hamas “worthless murderers” who should not be negotiated with.

Netanyahu agreed to a ceasefire in the 50-day war with Hamas on Wednesday. He did not take the decision to his cabinet for approval — possibly because he did not think he could get majority support for it.

A significant section of the cabinet believes Israel should have continued the war until Hamas was destroyed.

Others in the cabinet, including Netanyahu, are known to believe that a seriously weakened Hamas, whose tunnel network has been destroyed, is preferable to one of the other groups in Gaza that could replace Hamas.

Within Gaza, Hamas is having an ongoing power struggle with ­Islamic Jihad and five other Salafist groups.

One of the problems for Israel, and Hamas, is that while there may be a ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hamas, one of these other groups in Gaza is able to decide at any moment to fire rockets into ­Israel.

Lieberman and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett are the leaders of the “crush Hamas” faction in cabinet.

The issue is tied up with domestic political rivalry — Lieberman and Bennett are known to aspire to the Prime Minister’s job and both have been positioning themselves for some time as the real leader of the Right in Israel.

Lieberman recently flagged his hostility to Netanyahu by a scathing attack on him in a cabinet meeting, claiming he was “too soft” on Hamas, before deciding to end a merger between Netanyahu’s party, Likud, and his own, Yisrael Beiteinu.

Upon dissolving the merger, Lieberman said: “Recently, the differences of opinion between the Prime Minister and myself have become fundamental and over principles.”

Yesterday Lieberman made clear his opposition to the ceasefire.

Writing on his Facebook page, he said: “Hamas is not a partner for any arrangement, be it diplomatic or security-related.

“It’s impossible and forbidden to rely on worthless murderers. As long as Hamas isn’t defeated, the rocket and tunnel threats remain. We must stand firm that Hamas makes no political gains through this ceasefire.”

In Gaza, Hamas is presenting the ceasefire as a victory, claiming that Israel has agreed to ease its seven-year blockade of Gaza by opening three more crossings into Israel and extending the fishing zone.

In Israel, Netanyahu said Hamas had been dealt “a heavy blow”, but was less confident about whether the war had achieved the aim of calm.

“Will we get long-term calm?” he said. “I think it is too early to tell. But I can say that the blows to Hamas, and our ability to keep them from rearming by supervising the borders, increase the ­chances that this will be achieved.”

He added: “Hamas was hit hard and it received not one of the demands it set forth for a ceasefire, not one.”

He said Israel “will not tolerate” any more rocket fire, and would respond “even harder” if the ­attacks resume. — AP.