Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said that he decided to remain in the government after becoming convinced that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the new Trump administration were committed to removing Hamas as a governing power from Gaza, including by force if necessary.
Smotrich, who leads an ultranationalist religious party, had voted against the ceasefire deal with Hamas but has remained in the governing coalition for the time being. His departure would rob Netanyahu of his parliamentary majority, setting the stage for the government’s collapse and early elections.
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Smotrich argued that the deal would have gone through whether or not he left the government, and said that while he believed that the deal was a mistake, the majority of his coalition was in favor, and he could not “impose his minority opinion” on the rest.
Smotrich has said that if Phase two of the deal includes an end to the war without achieving its goals, he would not just leave the government; he would topple it.
The most dangerous part of the deal is the idea that taking Israelis hostage paid off and was enough to “bring Israel to its knees,” Smotrich said in the interview published Friday. This could result in attempts to kidnap Israelis or Jews abroad, which could be done fairly easily, and could force Israel to pay a heavy price. Israel needs to ensure that the end result will be an end to Hamas – and as such, a deterrent against future hostage-taking.
Smotrich also criticized the length of the war, which he said, should have been far quicker.
Part of what prolonged it was the Biden administration’s “arms embargo” and its delay of shipment of D9 military bulldozers, which are crucial for Israel’s urban warfare tactics, said Smotrich.
