Smotrich: PM ‘ultimately responsible’ for war, must occupy Gaza or lose right to govern
Far-right finance minister also spars with IDF chief Zamir over aid distribution: ‘If you are not capable, we will bring in someone who is’
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is the one who is ultimately responsible” for the handling of the war in Gaza, and if he does not occupy the territory and install a temporary military government then his “government has no right to exist,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared on Wednesday — in a statement widely interpreted as a threat to bring down the government.
Smotrich’s comments came after he reportedly verbally sparred with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir over the distribution of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip during Tuesday evening’s security cabinet meeting.
According to Hebrew-language media reports, the spat erupted after Defense Minister Israel Katz informed the cabinet that Israel would have no choice but to resume aid deliveries to the war-torn Gaza Strip within the next week or two, but must ensure that it does not reach Hamas.
Zamir, in response, is said to have told Katz that the military would not be responsible for distributing the aid, prompting Smotrich to retort that “the army does not choose its missions” and that the political echelon expects the IDF to be on top of aid distribution to ensure that none of the goods falls into Hamas’s hands.
“We have specified to you that you need to prepare for this. We will decide the goal and you will decide how to complete it,” said the finance minister. “If you are not capable, we will bring in someone capable. If you do not know how to do it, we will find someone who does.”
Turning to the war at large, Smotrich is also said to have criticized Zamir for how it is being waged, telling him that Israel needs to move into a “decisive phase” regarding the future of the Strip.
“There is a new chief of staff, we waited, we were patient, and we have reached the moment in which we need to move on,” he stated. “The war cannot continue as it is now, and it cannot go on forever.”
Smotrich also reportedly abruptly left the room when Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar addressed the security cabinet, saying he “needed to go to the bathroom.”
Smotrich had vowed to boycott Bar after the High Court froze government efforts to fire him.
In a statement on Wednesday morning, Smotrich reiterated his position, asserting that “managing the civilian effort in Gaza in a way that does not fall into the hands of Hamas was and remains the most critical component for defeating Hamas and winning the war.”
“Without internalizing and implementing this, we will not be able to win,” he argued, adding that “he had no complaints about the chief of staff” and that his “criticism is of the prime minister, who does not enforce the implementation of the political echelon’s policy on the IDF.”
“Introducing logistical aid that goes to Hamas is a step that I will not be a part of. Period!” he warned.
“The prime minister is the one who is ultimately responsible. Launch a campaign to defeat Hamas, occupy Gaza and implement a temporary military government until another solution is found, return the hostages and launch the Trump plan — or this government has no right to exist,” Smotrich further demanded, referring to US President Donald Trump’s proposal to empty Gaza of its residents to rebuild the enclave.
Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionism currently holds seven Knesset seats out of the coalition’s 68, not enough to terminate Netanyahu’s majority if it were to quit.
Smotrich has lost popularity with his national religious base over his failure to push harder on ultra-Orthodox enlistment and recent polling has shown that if elections were held today, the party would fall below the electoral threshold and would not return to the Knesset.
Fellow far right faction Otzma Yehudit, which ran on a joint list with Religious Zionism in the last election, would get between nine and ten seats, according to a Channel 12 poll released earlier this month.
Otzma Yehudit, chaired by firebrand National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, has taken a harder line than Smotrich on the war, leaving the government over the recent ceasefire and only returning with the resumption of hostilities — while Smotrich declined to do so despite railing against the decision to temporarily halt the fighting.
Smotrich’s harsh rhetoric against Netanyahu also came on the heels of a public spat with ultra-Orthodox lawmakers over his recent comment that “returning the hostages is not the most important thing” compared to defeating Hamas.
Following criticism from Haredi members of the coalition, Smotrich lashed out at MK Moshe Gafni, the chairman of the United Torah Judaism party’s Degel Hatorah faction, stating that he had “no right to talk about the war” and should “send his children to fight” before weighing in on the issue.
Responding to Tuesday evening’s spat between Smotrich and Zamir, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid declared that Netanyahu’s government “is incapable of winning the war,” while Ben Gvir issued a statement calling their debate “fundamentally stupid.”
“The entire Strip should not receive any ounce of aid, as long as our hostages are being held there,” Ben Gvir argued.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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