From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Smotrich opposes sending delegation to Cairo, wants more military pressure on Hamas
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. 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 says he objects to the decision to send a delegation to Cairo following Hamas’s latest counteroffer.
“Sending the delegation to Cairo is a mistake and falls into the manipulative trap set by Hamas together with Qatar and Egypt. This is the time to press more and more on the neck of Sinwar and Hamas until they are destroyed,” Smotrich says in a statement calling for any talks to be accompanied by military action.
“You must not give in to international pressure and you must not stop until victory and the submission of the enemy. This is our war of independence and we must win it,” he says.
Smotrich calls for Israel to fully occupy Rafah and the surrounding area, destroy all of the terror group’s underground infrastructure there and gain full control over the so-called Philadelphi Route along Gaza’s border with Egypt.
The Times of Israel Community.