Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said his far-right Religious Zionism party will remain in the government despite having voted against a ceasefire deal, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a number of demands and to achieving all the goals of the war in Gaza.
“Unfortunately, we were unable to prevent this dangerous deal, but we insisted and were able to ensure, through a government decision, in the cabinet, and other ways, that the war would not end in any way, without achieving its full goals, foremost among them the complete destruction of Hamas in Gaza,” Smotrich was quoted by The Times of Israel as saying.
“We demanded and received a commitment to completely change the method of war,” including “through a gradual takeover of the entire Gaza Strip, the lifting of the restrictions imposed on us by the Biden administration, and full control of the Strip, so that humanitarian aid will not reach Hamas as it has been until now,” he added.
The far-right minister noted that there was “no other way to achieve the goals of the war”.