Decrying deal, Smotrich says his party will bolt gov’t unless it’s certain war will resume ‘at full scale’

Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announces a compensation plan for evacuees returning to their homes in northern Israel, at a press conference on January 5, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announces a compensation plan for evacuees returning to their homes in northern Israel, at a press conference on January 5, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich comes out against the ceasefire and hostage release deal announced this evening, declaring it a “bad and dangerous deal for the national security of the State of Israel.”

“Along with the great joy and excitement of the return of each and every kidnapped person, the deal reverses many of the achievements of the war” bought at the cost of Israeli blood, he declares.

“We will not be silent. The voices of our brothers’ blood cry out to us,” Smotrich, who heads the far-right Religious Zionism party, continues, laying out an ultimatum for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“A clear condition for us to remain in the government is the absolute certainty of returning to the war” at “full scale” until “complete victory,” meaning the “destruction of the Hamas terrorist organization and the return of all the hostages to their homes,” he says.

“Over the past two days, the prime minister and I have been conducting hectic talks on the matter. He knows what the detailed demands of Religious Zionism are and the ball is in his hands.”

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