Smotrich decries ‘trap’ as mediators push Israel, Hamas to agree to hostage deal
Finance minister slams ‘delusional symmetry’ between Israeli hostages and terrorists, says deal would harm Israel’s deterrence, make it look weak in Middle East
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Friday voiced opposition to the resumption of talks for a hostage-truce deal with Hamas, blasting the mediators’ joint call to bring about an immediate deal.
Smotrich said the statement creates a “delusional symmetry” between Israeli hostages and terrorists who would be released as part of the deal, and it was “not the time” to release the murderers, calling the ceasefire and hostage release deal “a dangerous trap.”
“And mainly, it is definitely not the time for a capitulating deal that ends the war before the elimination of the Hamas ISIS Nazis, allowing them to recover and return to murder Jews again,” he wrote.
Smotrich said a deal would also allow Hezbollah’s forces to remain on the northern border, reward terrorism and Iranian attacks against Israel, harm Israel’s deterrence, present the country as weak among its neighbors, and “alienate” its allies in the region.
“I call on the Prime Minister not to fall into this trap and not agree to the shift, even in the slightest, from the red lines he set just recently, though they are also very problematic,” Smotrich added.
Smotrich and far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir have both threatened to quit the government if a deal is signed that ends the war. Opposition leader Yair Lapid has promised to provide the government with a “security net” in such a case, providing it with support so that it can authorize an agreement to free the hostages.
צריך לקרוא את זה כדי להאמין, ובעיקר כדי להבין את נקודת המוצא המעוותת והמסוכנת של מי שלוחצים עלינו להפסיק את המלחמה ולהיכנע. ה"מתווכות" אשכרה כתבו בהודעתן אתמול ש"הגיע הזמן לסכם את הסכם הפסקת האש בעזה ושחרור החטופים והאסירים" תוך יצירת סימטריה הזויה בין החטופים הישראלים – גברים… pic.twitter.com/zw8HPTtAGX
— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) August 9, 2024
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced an Israeli delegation will attend ceasefire-for-hostage negotiations with Hamas on August 15, after the United States, Egypt, and Qatar on Thursday issued a joint call for talks to resume next week with the aim to swiftly conclude a deal.
“It is time to bring immediate relief both to the long-suffering people of Gaza as well as the long-suffering hostages and their families. The time has come to conclude the ceasefire and hostages and detainees release deal,” said the statement signed by US President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
The statement said that after working “tirelessly” for months, the mediators are ready to present Israel and Hamas with a final proposal, with only the details for implementing the agreement yet to be worked out.
There was no immediate response from Hamas.
The joint statement from the US, Egypt and Qatar was welcomed by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which thanked the countries’ leaders “for their commitment to the release of the 115 hostages who have already been in Hamas captivity for 308 days,” before appealing to the government and Netanyahu to “demonstrate leadership” and finalize a deal “for the return of all the hostages.”
It is believed that 111 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas during the October 7 terror onslaught remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 39 confirmed dead by the IDF. Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Seven hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 24 hostages have also been recovered, including three abductees mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
