From the Liveblog of
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Government may take separate decision on war against Hamas to placate Smotrich — report
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is about to hold his sixth meeting in two days with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, as he seeks to persuade the Religious Zionism coalition party leader not to quit the government over the hostage-ceasefire deal, Channel 12 reports.
The unsourced report says the government may pass a separate decision to placate Smotrich stating that the war against Hamas will not end before Hamas is destroyed militarily and in terms of governing capacity. This decision will also define a new war goal: Destroying terrorism in the West Bank.
Channel 12 assesses that even if Smotrich and fellow far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir vote against the hostage-ceasefire deal, it will be approved by both the security cabinet and the full cabinet.
Ben Gvir may well take his party out of the coalition, the report notes. The Otzma Yehudit leader is set to hold a press conference shortly.
