Smotrich: We need to conquer the entire northern Gaza Strip and issue an ultimatum to Hamas

November 18, 2024   

Religious Zionist Chairman and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called today (Monday), at the beginning of his faction's Knesset meeting, to occupy the northern Gaza Strip as a lever of pressure on Hamas to release the kidnapped. The minister also called on the attorney general to resign from her position. Smotrich began: "Even today, our heroic fighters in the regular and reserve forces continue to fight fiercely and dismantle Hamas and Hezbollah. While we are here, they continue to operate on the front lines in a relentless effort to bring the kidnapped people home. They have been fighting for over a year with heroism, determination and unity. We will not relent until we destroy our enemies and fully restore security to the State of Israel, until victory." Regarding reports of talks on the settlement in the north, he said: "Regarding the talk about the settlement that is emerging in the north, our starting point is - full operational freedom of action for the IDF in southern Lebanon. This is a condition that cannot be passed. At the end of the war, we will have freedom of action in Gaza, and so we will also have freedom of action in Lebanon. We will not agree to any arrangement that is no longer worth the paper it is written on. We are changing the concept of security and not returning to decades of a concept of containment and threats without response. This will not happen again." He said: "I visited Nir Oz last week. I salute and cherish the residents of Nir Oz who invited me. This experience shook me and affected me deeply and thoroughly. Our commitment to return the kidnapped is great, moral and ethical on a national level." He elaborated: "In order to do this, we must complete the task, take power from Hamas through IDF control and supervision, including over the humanitarian aid that prolongs its life in power, and complete the task on the ground. We will not reach an agreement with Hamas to end the war, because that would mean our surrender and loss. We will not accept a situation where Hamas remains in control of the Gaza Strip. We will continue until Hamas is eliminated, until we bring it to a surrender agreement, within the framework of which all the kidnapped will be released as soon as possible." Smotrich emphasized: "In order to return the hostages, we need to conquer the entire northern Gaza Strip and inform Hamas unequivocally that if the hostages do not return, we are imposing our sovereignty and staying there forever - at that moment Hamas will have the motivation to keep them alive. "Together with the differentiation of the arenas and the differentiation of Hamas and the support for the freedom of action that we will receive, God willing, from the Trump administration, it will be possible to subdue Hamas and welcome the hostages home. As long as we do not do this - we are prolonging the war and the time that the hostages are in captivity. At this time, with the significant achievements we have achieved, we will in no way waste all the efforts and the precious blood price we have paid." Regarding the left's protests against the government, he said: "Alongside the national arena and the war, we are very saddened that at a time when the people of Israel, in their vast majority, are emerging at the height of their glory, in unity, determination, faith, mutual guarantee, dedication, sacrifice and firm standing in a difficult year in a way that reflects on the entire Middle East and the entire world, there is a handful of violent and barn-burning agitators who are agitating and acting violently and receiving media backing and, to our great regret, legal backing as well. "These are dark days in which a storm of incitement is raging against the Prime Minister and against the elected government in Israel, and all of this in the midst of a war of survival. "The same people who incited refusal in the IDF and thus invited the enemy to attack, are now acting in violent ways - physically and verbally, to harm the Prime Minister and the Israeli government. It begins with words, comparing the Prime Minister to Hitler and the Nazis and false discourse about the government wanting the hostages dead, it continues with throwing torches and firing flares at the Prime Minister's house, and if we don't put an end to this now, we all understand where, God forbid, this could deteriorate. "Unfortunately, in the face of this storm, the law enforcement system, headed by the Legal Advisor to the Prime Minister, stands by and does nothing, and in fact, in its appeal of all government decisions and in its petty and confrontational attacks, not only does it not work to stop them but also encourages these attacks and expressions of hatred. "Instead of respecting Israeli democracy and the will of the public and its elected officials, and allowing the implementation of the government's policy in accordance with the law, the hostile conduct led by the legal advisor comes to attack the government at every step, and the latest example was yesterday in the government when I requested to pass a government decision that was made to limit the term of office of legal advisors to 7 years, and here too, as always, the legal advisor is fighting a decision that was already made in 2009 and is trying to prevent it out of personal interest, just to protect her friends and squeeze more millions of shekels into her private pockets at the expense of the citizens of Israel." He joined other government members and called on the attorney general to resign: "I hereby call on the legal advisor to show integrity and fairness. You are abusing your position and authority to wage a political struggle. If you have a shred of integrity and objectivity - resign from the position of legal advisor, take off your robe and go and conduct your struggles from Kaplan Street in a democratic manner." "Only in this way will the public's loss of trust in the legal system be prevented. Only in this way will we stop the worsening of the rift in the people. Resign, and then we will not be forced to deal with such matters in the government during the war and our attention will not be diverted from the important tasks before us," he concluded.