Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says that it would be “sheer madness” for Israel to accept a partial hostage deal, and warns he will not tolerate such a move, after US special envoy Steve Witkoff said he has “some very good feelings” about a new proposal the US expects to send out later today.
Asserting that Hamas has been “under tremendous pressure” due to the new aid distribution mechanism in Gaza and the IDF’s new offensive, the Religious Zionism leader demands that Israel “continue to tighten the noose around its neck and force it into a complete surrender deal.”
“It would be sheer madness to ease the pressure now and sign a partial deal,” he writes, insisting that doing so would allow the terror group to recover.
“I will not allow such a thing to happen. End of.”
His remarks appear to draw ire from within the coalition, as Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says that Israel should make decisions about potential hostage deals “according to national interests, and not according to political pressure and threats.”
He does not mention Smotrich by name.
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