Smotrich: The right thing to do is to occupy Gaza and establish a civilian settlement there

December 2, 2024   

Finance Minister and Cabinet member Bezalel Smotrich was interviewed this morning (Monday) on the "Kelman-Lieberman" program on Channel 2 and said that he hopes for the return of the kidnapped - but an agreement to return them must be well thought out. "We will not make a reckless deal. We will not make a surrender deal," he said. "We will make a surrender deal, in which Hamas will surrender. It will be through military pressure - that is the best scenario. I supported the previous deal, but I have red lines. Regarding the cessation of fighting, each case must be discussed on its own merits. I abhor the release of terrorists with every fiber of my being. There is a dilemma. Don't envy us, the people who sit in the cabinet and make these decisions. We have two goals and we must not let the important goal of returning the kidnapped destroy our second goal of dismantling Hamas." He emphasized: "The State of Israel cannot afford to lose this war. What happened on October 7 cannot happen. And we need to dismantle Hamas. There was a consensus on this and we agreed on the goal of this war on the first day." Smotrich revealed his meeting with the people of Kibbutz Nir Oz: "It was an exciting, uplifting and amazing meeting. The State of Israel has been blessed with heroes like the people of Kibbutz Nir Oz. I feel more connected to them and committed to them. I really hope that I am a different person. I really connect with people who accept what is different. But I am still a person with a certain ideology and certain values." Smotrich referred to his support for the arrangement with Lebanon: "The feeling of sourness is very understandable. After the strategic success. There are political constraints that have been announced. The American administration has put a 'gun to our head'." Smotrich mentioned his visit to Avivim: "I told the residents that if I were in their place, I would understand the concerns. At the same time, the IDF is still in the area. Our position was anchored in the cabinet decision, there are constraints that everyone knows. The agreement does not allow Hezbollah to rebuild the terror infrastructure in southern Lebanon." The minister also addressed the opposition's criticism of him: "I try to be matter-of-fact and responsible. Sometimes I'm wrong too. I want to believe that if I were in the opposition and didn't know the details, I might be critical and not matter-of-fact. "I don't want to address the return of the residents," said Smotrich. "We will hold a meeting with the leadership in the various localities. I want to restore the residents' sense of security and we will make a slow and responsible return. At the same time, there will be a development plan. It depends on the residents' will. There is no shortage of money, there is the property tax fund, and there is enough money in this fund, and I'm not worried." Minister Smotrich also addressed his statements regarding settlement in the Gaza Strip: "I am a right-winger who believes in settlement in the Land of Israel. It is possible that if we had settled in the Gaza Strip, there would not have been the terrible massacre. We have discussions about the day after, it is not part of the goals of the war, there are discussions, there is an assessment of the day after. There is a very lively discourse regarding the day after." Smotrich added: "There was a stage when we did not want to put disputes aside. As time goes by, everyone is busy with the day after. As far as I am concerned, the right thing to do is to occupy the Gaza Strip and return the settlement. It is not part of the goals of the war. As far as I am concerned, the goals of the war are to remove the threat from Gaza to the residents of Israel. We do this by dismantling Hamas. We need to destroy Hamas.". Listen to the full interview: