Exactly this. Either Netanyahu controls the Likud-coalition and this is the aligned message of displacement/ethnic cleansing, or he dismisses these ministers and publicly refutes these statements, or he doesn’t have control and should immediately hold elections to secure a real coalition or majority. But that risks jail for Netanyahu, and his actions so far have openly spoken of cowardice in the face of the legal repercussions.

Because otherwise this kind of rhetoric is going straight into the ICJ evidence file for SA’s genocide complaint that Israel is contesting. Protestations of ‘blood libel’ don’t drown out cabinet ministers openly calling for ethnic cleansing going unpunished.

As odd as it may seem: yes, they aren't influential in directing the war. They have those positions because Netanyahu promised them for supporting his coalition, not because they were "earned" or because they're ideologically aligned. It's a marriage of convenience and outside of Netanyahu's deal to desperately cling to power, these two are far-right kooks from fringe parties. It doesn't give them real legitimacy. Netayahu's coalition deal was an enormous controversy even outside of Israel. A big reason they formed the emergency government was to keep extremely unserious clowns like these away from decision-making by bringing in grown-ups. They are both strongly disliked and would be crushed back into obscurity in an election.

This article presents their statements as something new and they aren't. Both of these fucking morons routinely suggest horrific shit like expelling Arabs from Israel. Ben-Gvir was convicted in Israel of racist incitement against Arabs decades ago. A former head of Shin Bet once referred to Smotrich as a "Jewish terrorist." They are both settler extremists and known quantites; it would be stranger if they weren't spouting racist, extremist bullshit. They are not representative of the broader government. Netanyahu didn't have to agree to a cabinet made up of his political enemies; even that far-right ghoul knows these people are clowns. Given all that, I don't think there's a compelling reason to believe that they'd be the ones to announce Israeli policy.

Are you waiting for other people in their govt to say something about flattening Gaza?

I'm waiting for someone who actually matters. These dipshits do not. I mean, really, none of the people currently in power are going to be around after this conflict anyway, so I'm more concerned with what Gantz is saying than with Netanyahu's petulant tantrums.