Smotrich opposes any Hamas hostage deal, warns Netanyahu

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced yesterday that he is strictly against any hostage exchange deal with Hamas, even a partial one, warning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and cabinet members.

Smotrich emphasized that he would not permit such a deal to be signed.

Smotrich stated his strong opposition to any step leading to an agreement with Hamas, saying, “It would be meaningless now to sign a partial deal that would reduce pressure on Hamas and give it a lifeline to recover.”

The Israeli minister clarified his threat with the words, “I will not allow such a thing, period.”

According to the Israeli website Kipa, Smotrich argued in a post on the X platform that pressure on Hamas must continue and that Hamas should be forced into a full surrender agreement, including the release of all hostages at once.

Smotrich’s firm stance followed reports of a possible hostage exchange deal, as well as “expected changes in the humanitarian aid distribution mechanism in the Gaza Strip.”

The Kipa website noted that this is not the first time Smotrich has made such threats and that he has failed to follow through on them in the past.

The report recalled that the minister threatened to resign from the government last month over the decision to allow aid into Gaza.

The site stated, “Despite this, when the cabinet later approved the entry of aid, Smotrich did not act on his resignation threat. On the contrary, he defended the decision, asserting that the aid did not reach Hamas.”

Smotrich later supported this decision, explaining that the entry of aid was a “necessary order” and allowed Israel to meet the minimum needs of Gaza residents while “protecting its war aims.”

Furthermore, the Israeli newspaper Maariv previously reported allegations of a “political deal” between Netanyahu and Smotrich, involving the construction of new settlements in the West Bank in exchange for humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

The families of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip responded to Smotrich’s statements with a declaration, stating, “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

The statement also demanded, “Stop playing with the fate of the hostages because history will remember you. Abandon the false offers and empty promises, do what the public wants, bring back all 58 hostages, and stop the war.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also responded to Smotrich via the X platform.

Sa’ar stated, “As long as there is an opportunity to release the hostages, it is right to do so, and this is the will of the overwhelming majority of the people in Israel. Actions should be guided by public interest, not by political pressures and threats.”