Israel's Far-right Minister Smotrich Calls for 'No Half Measures' in the 'Total Annihilation' of Gaza - Israel News - Haaretz.com
Finance Minister and member of the security cabinet Bezalel Smotrich called on Monday for annihilating Israel's enemies, saying "There are no half measures. [The Gazan cities of] Rafah, Deir al-Balah, Nuseirat – total annihilation. 'You will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven' – there's no place under heaven."
Smotrich also referred to ongoing negotiations with Hamas for a hostage release deal, saying that Israel is "negotiating with someone who long ago should have ceased to exist at all."
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He made the remarks at a Mimouna event, a traditional North African Jewish celebration held at the end of Passover. It took place at the home of Rabbi Shachar Butzhak, who is affiliated with the Garin Torani movement – a state-funded group of Jewish religious nationalists often planted in secular populations or in mixed Arab-Jewish towns as a demographic and intimidation strategy.
Bezalel Smotrich speaking at the Mimouna event, on Monday.
Smotrich, who also is a minister in the Defense Ministry, added that when Hamas is destroyed, Israel must "clear out, with God's help, with one blow, wicked Hezbollah in the north, and really send a message that what will happen to those who harm the Jewish people is the same as those who have tried to harm us in the past – they will be destroyed, destroyed, destroyed. And it will echo for decades to come."
Smotrich's remarks come amid renewed talks between Israel and Hamas on a deal to release the hostages in exchange for a cease-fire in Gaza. On Tuesday, he came out again against the current proposal being discussed, saying, "Whoever gives his hand to this will forever be remembered in the history of the Jewish state, and he does not deserve to be considered its leader."
Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, on Monday.Credit: Mohammad Jahjouh/AP
In a statement he delivered at the Knesset, Smotrich said, "the Egyptian proposal is a terrible 'blue and white' defeat and loss, that will give Hamas a resounding victory on a silver platter and send all our enemies off to prepare the next massacre and eliminate the Zionist enterprise."
It's unclear if Smotrich was referring to Israel as a whole, or to Benny Gantz's political party, when using the term "blue and white."
Smotrich accused the war cabinet of "agreeing to strategic concessions that endanger the State of Israel," and addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "Don't wave a white flag. Don't let Sinwar humiliate us again and win the war. A government that submits to international pressure and stops the war in the middle will, at that moment, lose its right to exist."
Israeli forces wait on the Gaza border to receive further orders about an operation in Rafah, on Saturday.Credit: Eliyahu Hershkovitz
These remarks came a day after Smotrich told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that, if he canceled the military assault on Rafah, the government had no right to remain in power, and accused the prime minister of allowing Hamas to grow strongerover the previous two decades.
A deal would constitute "a humiliating surrender, a death sentence for the hostage not included in a deal and a danger to the State of Israel," the finance minister said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Israel's newest offer to Hamas is "extremely generous," and three Israeli sources told The New York Times that Israel had agreed to a proposal that would include the release of 33 hostages in exchange for a ceasefire. An Israeli diplomatic official stated on Tuesday morning that they are awaiting Hamas' response to the proposal expected on Wednesday evening, after which a decision will be made regarding the delegation's departure.