Smotrich tells hostage families he won’t publicly reject deal before knowing what’s in it

Channel 12 publishes a leaked quote from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s recent meeting with the families of hostages in Gaza in which he pledges not to publicly rule out a hostage deal before knowing exactly what is in it.

Smotrich admits that he did this ahead of the previous deal in November and was mistaken. He ended up voting in favor of the deal after initially coming out against it.

“I was wrong,” he tells the hostages’ families.

“Only a donkey doesn’t change his mind,” he says.

The families have been seeking to convince Smotrich and fellow far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir not to speak out against a hostage deal, fearing such comments harm efforts to secure an agreement.

Channel 12 says the families haven’t had any luck convincing Ben Gvir who has been more militant in his opposition to just about any hostage deal.