Minister Bezalel Smotrich addressed the emerging proposal for a deal in a statement to the press today.
"The conduct of the War Cabinet is failed and dangerous. Time and again they repeat the same mistakes, time and again they give in to Sinwar, time and again they give up all the red lines, humiliate the State of Israel, and again the result is that Hamas digs in its heels." He emphasized: "Our hearts are with the families of the hostages, we embrace them and we are committed to bringing them all home. The last few months have proven to all of us that the way there is not through negotiations with Sinwar but only by increasing the military pressure and firing until Hamas surrenders."
"I said months ago that it was a mistake to send the heads of the security establishment to Egypt and Qatar to pursue a surrender deal instead of pursuing the heads of Hamas in Gaza and everywhere else in the world and eliminating them," Smotrich added, emphasizing that "the dangerous proposal that Biden spoke of was given by the War Cabinet without authority and contrary to the law, and it does not bind the government of Israel and the State of Israel."
Smotrich made it clear to Netanyahu: "If heaven forbid the government decides to adopt this surrender proposal, we will not be part of it and we will work to replace the failed leadership with new leadership that will know how to bring about a decisive victory and a victory in the war, that will destroy Hamas, bring all the hostages home, hurt Hezbollah, and return the residents of the north home safely."
"I told the prime minister, we, together with the bereaved families and with the majority of the people of Israel, will stand with you for a decisive victory, but we will stand against you with all the power and vigor we have if you choose surrender and defeat."
On the situation on the various fronts, he said: "The situation in the north is deteriorating, we must move the security strip from within Israeli territory in the Galilee to southern Lebanon, including a ground invasion, the occupation of the territory, and the expulsion of the Hezbollah terrorists and hundreds of thousands of Lebanese who hide among them beyond the Litani River, in combination with a deadly attack on all the infrastructure in Lebanon, the destruction of the Hezbollah centers of gravity and a severe blow to the capital of terror in Beirut. We must create a situation in which Lebanon will be busy for the next twenty years in efforts to rebuild what is left of it after the blow we will deal it, and not in leading terror against the State of Israel."
"In Judea and Samaria, we are already seeing the preparations of the Arabs for the next massacre, God forbid, for the takeover and conquest of the communities and cities on the border and in the center of the country. I visited Bat Hefer and met with the heads of the municipalities who are experiencing the Arab terror firsthand. We must not close our eyes to this danger. Israel must go to war for self-defense in Jenin, in Tulkarm, in Qalqilya, and everywhere from which the terror comes. Israel must destroy all the terrorist infrastructures in a determined and lethal work of the ground forces together with the air force."
'The residents of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Qalqilya should know that because of the terror emanating from their territory, their cities will be reduced to rubble just like Gaza. This is the only language understood in the Middle East. Anyone who still talks about the establishment of a Palestinian state is inviting the creation of a terror and murder monster in the heart of the State of Israel. We will not allow this to happen even if the entire world recognizes such a state."
"Alongside the military response, we are already acting on the ground to thwart the Arab takeover of the open areas, enforcement and demolition of illegal construction, and at the same time strengthening settlement by building, infrastructure and development, with emphasis on the young settlements. We will do everything with God's help to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state that will endanger the existence of the State of Israel," he concluded.