Smotrich defends saying hostages are ‘not the most important thing,’ says he’s voicing what most people think

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich defends saying last week that securing the return of the hostages was “not the most important thing” for Israel to worry about at the moment and the government’s primary focus should be destroying Hamas.

Speaking during a conference in Jerusalem, he claims that he is “one of the few who had the courage to say what the majority of the public thinks, and the attacks were not against me but against the entire community that I represent.”

“I said that the matter of the hostages is important, but not the most important thing,” he continues. “Look at how much fire I took last week just because I said the most logical and correct thing.”

Opinion polls have indicated that there is no clear consensus when it comes to prioritizing the hostages over destroying Hamas.

A poll released by the Jewish People Policy Institute earlier this month indicated that while 40% of Israelis would prioritize eradicating Hamas, 32% would prefer to release the hostages and 28% said they didn’t know how to answer the question.

A separate poll released by the Israel Democracy Institute at the start of February showed that a slim majority of 51% supported placing the hostages at the top of the country’s agenda.