Finance Minister and Religious Zionism party leader Bezalel Smotrich published a long post on his Facebook page today (Sunday), explaining that he decided not to leave the government to ensure the war will continue, which would not be possible at all if he brought down the coalition:
"So why didn't I resign from the government? Because I have a national responsibility for victory and security, and I am willing to pay a price for it. Because I don't run away from the battlefield in the middle of the war even after a searing defeat in one of its battles just to keep my hands clean. I continue to fight and strive for victory."
The Religious Zionism party leader then refuted the idea that the deal could have been stopped altogether: "Contrary to all sorts of childish spins, at the stage the negotiations had reached, the deal could not be stopped. Not even by threatening to bring down the government."
He then explained how the danger of Hamas' actions affects every Jew, no matter where they are: "Beyond the great risks of releasing terrorists, allowing Gazans back to the northern Strip, etc., the greatest strategic damage in this deal lies in the fact that the message resonating from it is that kidnapping Israelis brings the State of Israel to its knees. This is a danger to Jews worldwide. The only way to rectify this damage and turn the deal from a tactical loss in a battle into not a strategic defeat in the war is to return to fighting until Hamas is destroyed. To ensure the message that resonates from this war at its end is that whoever kidnaps Jews dies, is annihilated, is erased. Even if they had tactical victories along the way, in the overall picture, they are gone, and it's not worth it."
Finally, Smotrich said that the only alternative is even worse than the current deal, for those seeking to eliminate Hamas as a threat: "Bringing down the government would necessarily lead to stopping the war. The left would offer Netanyahu a safety net for a few months only if he committed to continuing the further stages of the deal and ending the war without destroying Hamas and overthrowing its rule in Gaza. Our staying in the government on the condition of continuing the pursuit of victory gives a much greater chance of success.
"For this, I remain in the government. Keeping the sword of threat to its survival hanging for the coming months. This is what I negotiated fiercely with the Prime Minister and his people in recent days to create certainty and solidify the continuation of the war and its management from here on in a way that will, with God's help, achieve all its goals."
0 Comments