Smotrich: Harris proves Israel would be ‘surrendering to Sinwar’ if hostage deal goes ahead

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich criticizes the terms of the proposed hostage release and ceasefire deal after US Vice President Kamala Harris urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “get the deal done” in order to return the hostages to Israel and provide relief to citizens of the war-torn Gaza Strip.

“Kamala Harris revealed to the whole world what I have been saying for weeks, what is really behind the deal,” Smotrich writes on X.

Committing to the deal in its current iteration would mean “surrendering to Sinwar, ending the war in a way that would allow Hamas to rehabilitate, and abandoning most of the hostages in Hamas captivity,” he warns. “Do not fall into this trap!”

קמלה האריס חשפה בפני העולם כולו את מה שאני אומר כבר שבועות, מה באמת עומד מאחורי העסקה.
כניעה לסינוואר, הפסקת המלחמה באופן שיאפשר לחמאס להשתקם והפקרת רוב החטופים בשבי החמאס.
אסור ליפול למלכודת הזו!

— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) July 26, 2024

His fellow coalition hardliner National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also reacts to Harris’s comments, writing on X: “There will be no ceasefire, Madam candidate.”