From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 9, 2025
Smotrich says he won’t vote in favor of deal, wants war to continue
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 his far-right Religious Zionism party will not vote in support of a Gaza ceasefire deal that will see hostages freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a halt to fighting in Gaza.
Smotrich expresses “mixed emotions,” saying that while he feels “immense joy” at the pending return of the hostages, he feels “tremendous fear of the consequences of emptying the prisons and releasing the next generation of terrorist leaders, who will do everything to continue spilling rivers of Jewish blood, God forbid.”
As such, he says “we cannot join in the short-sighted celebrations or vote in favor of the deal.”
The security cabinet is set to meet this afternoon to be briefed on the Gaza ceasefire deal, with the full government meeting afterward to vote on the agreement. A substantial majority in favor of the deal is expected.
Smotrich argues that Israel should continue fighting after the hostages are released.
“It is a huge responsibility to ensure that this is not, God forbid, a deal of ‘hostages in exchange for stopping the war,’ as Hamas thinks and brags about,” Smotrich declares, arguing that immediately after the return of the hostages, Israel should “continue to strive with all its might for the real eradication of Hamas and the real demilitarization of Gaza so that it no longer poses a threat to Israel.”
He speaks out against a political process aiming at Palestinian statehood or the use of an international force to secure Gaza, both key tenets of the 20-point US plan for Gaza.
“It is a huge obligation to ensure that we do not return to the Oslo path, God forbid, and that we do not abandon our security to the hands of foreigners,” he says, boasting that his opposition to previous deals “led to progress in the occupation of Gaza and the application of military pressure that brought Hamas to its knees.”
Speaking with the Ynet news site, Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock, a member of Smotrich’s party, praises some of the deal’s achievements but adds that the party could bolt the government over the issue. “[I don’t] know how it’s morally possible to remain in a government that does Oslo III, sends soldiers to fight and says — we gave up on these goals,” she says.
The Times of Israel Community.