Smotrich tells PM he’ll leave the government if hostage deal proposal adopted by Israel
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter

Finance Minister and head of the ultranationalist Religious Zionism party Bezalel Smotrich says he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and told him that his party would quit the coalition if Israel adopts the current proposal for a hostage release and ceasefire plan.
“I made clear to him [Netanyahu] that I will not be part of a government that agrees to the proposed outline and ends the war without destroying Hamas and bringing back all the hostages,” says Smotrich.
“We will not agree to end the war before the destruction of Hamas, not to the severe harm to the achievements of the war until now by an IDF retreat and the return of Gazans to northern Gaza, and not to the wholesale release of terrorists who will return, God forbid, to murdering Jews,” he adds.
The ultranationalist leader says his party is demanding that “the fighting continue” until Hamas is destroyed and the hostages are returned, “the creation of a totally different security reality in Gaza and Lebanon, the return of all the residents of the north and south to their homes, and massive investment in the accelerated development of these regions of the country.”
Religious Zionism and fellow far-right party Otzma Yehudit, led by Itamar Ben Gvir, won 14 seats when running together in the 2022 elections and are crucial to Netanyahu’s governing majority. However, Opposition leader Yair Lapid earlier today reiterated a promise to provide a political safety net to Netanyahu, to ensure his government would not fall over the deal.