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Saturday, November 16, 2024
Smotrich says Israel will not end Gaza war until Hamas ‘wiped out,’ denies this seals hostages’ fate
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Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says Israel will not end the war in Gaza until Hamas is “wiped out” and “no longer in existence,” but denies that this means the hostages will never come home.
Smotrich, head of the far-right Religious Zionism party, on Tuesday paid a first visit to the Hamas-ravaged Kibbutz Nir Oz, and met there with former hostages and the families of hostages still held in Gaza. Interviewed on Channel 12, he thanks the kibbutz for hosting him.
He is immediately asked why the government will not agree on a deal to end the war in return for the release of all the hostages. Israel cannot sign a deal with Hamas to end the war, he says, since “this would mean [Hamas] retains control in Gaza.”
He denies this means the hostages will never come home, and stresses the two goals of the war: to destroy Hamas and bring home the hostages. The first goal must be accomplished, among other reasons, he says, to ensure there can be no repeat of October 7 and to show Israel’s enemies that Israel has won.
He specifies that “I won’t agree to a deal that ends the war” and rejects the idea that, if a ceasefire and hostage deal were agreed, the IDF would be able to resume the fight against Hamas in Gaza later on. Ending the war would not be reversible, he says.
Smotrich then elaborates on what he considers to be fulfilling the goals of the war as regards to Hamas: “We will end this war when Hamas is wiped out, gone, destroyed, no longer in existence… there is no Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip.”
When it is again put to him that this means no return of the hostages, he replies: “When Hamas understands that it’s on its own, and there is no Hezbollah supporting it, and there is no Iran supporting it, and there’s a Trump in the White House who is going to give us absolute freedom of action…”
Smotrich is interrupted by his hosts at this point and does not complete the thought, but he goes on: “If we continue the effort in the Gaza Strip we will create… complete sterilization in northern Gaza, and, finally, alternative governance.”
Smotrich says he believes Israel should and will resume Jewish settlement in Gaza but notes that “settlement is not one of the aims of the war.”
The Times of Israel Community.