This morning, Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich stated his hopes for the safe return of hostages, but emphasized that any deal to secure their release must be carefully considered. Speaking on Kan Reshet Bet, Smotrich clarified, “We will not make an irresponsible deal. We will not make a deal to surrender. I supported the previous deal, but I have red lines.” He explained that each scenario related to the conclusion of the war must be evaluated individually. “I find releasing terrorists repulsive, in every cell of my body. There’s a dilemma. Don’t be jealous of us, who sit in the Cabinet and make these decisions. We have two goals and we must not allow the important goal of bringing the hostages back destroy the second goal of dismantling Hamas.”
Smotrich underscored that Israel cannot afford to lose the war, stating, “The State of Israel cannot allow itself to lose this war. What happened on October 7 cannot happen. And we need to dismantle Hamas. There was a consensus about this, and we agreed on the goals of this war on the first day.” Regarding the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, Smotrich expressed his disappointment, saying, “The feeling of missing an opportunity is very understandable after the strategic success. There were diplomatic reasons which were publicized. The US government held a gun to our foreheads.”
Smotrich also addressed his visit to Avivim in northern Israel on Sunday. He shared, “I told the residents that if I were in their position, I would understand their concerns. At the same time, the IDF is still in the area. Our position was confirmed in the Cabinet decision- there are limitations that everyone is aware of. The agreement does not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its terror infrastructure in southern Lebanon.” He chose not to discuss the potential return of residents, adding, “We will hold a meeting with the leaders of the various towns. I want to give the residents’ back their feeling of security, and we will do a gradual and responsible return. At the same time, there is a plan for development. It depends on the decision of the residents. Money is not lacking, there is a property tax fund, and this fund has enough money, and I’m not worried.”
In response to criticism from opposition figures, Smotrich said, “I try to be on point and responsible. Sometimes I also make mistakes. I want to believe that if I were in the opposition and not familiar with the details, perhaps I would be critical and off topic.” When asked about the prospect of resettling Gaza, Smotrich replied, “I am a right-wing individual who believes in settling the Land of Israel. It could be that if we settled in Gaza, this horrific massacre would not have happened. We have discussions about the ‘day after,’ this is not part of the goals of the war, there are discussions, there is an estimate regarding the day after. There is a very raw discussion about the ‘day after.'”
He continued, “There was a stage when we wanted to put our disagreements on the side. As time passes, everyone is busy with the ‘day after.’ From my perspective, the right thing to do is to conquer Gaza and return the settlements. This isn’t part of the goals of the war. From my perspective, the goals of the war are to remove the threat Gaza presents to the residents of Israel. We do that by dismantling Hamas. We need to destroy Hamas.”
{Matzav.com}