During a meeting of the Religious Zionism party, Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, called on the Knesset to take control of Gaza and take civilian control away from Hamas.
"It is time to occupy the territory and take civilian control over Gaza from Hamas, by disconnecting it from its source of oxygen that is still keeping it alive. We just saw how the regime heads in Syria fled like rats, the moment they realized they had lost control over the citizens. We can do the same in Gaza. We have already achieved significant successes there. We must take another step forward and achieve a true and clear victory," said Smotrich.
He added, "Instead of discussing partial deals that would leave a large number of the hostages behind and damage the war achievements and chances of a decisive victory, we need to push down on the gas, stop fearing our own shadow, and do what is needed to be done."
He conveyed a message to the IDF, "Unfortunately, for months now the General Staff has been dragging its feet and refusing to implement the government's directives; to take civilian control away from Hamas, and stop humanitarian aid reaching Hamas. If someone in the General Staff's senior command does not know how to do this, or is unable to, they should step down and allow others to carry out the work according to the policy of the Israeli government and the Security Cabinet.
“If we do this, with God's help, we will see that, like the few remaining fighters in Syria, the Hamas leaders will also flee like mice to save themselves and their families and we will be able to bring all the hostages home and permanently remove the threat from the State of Israel," said Smotrich.
The minister also addressed the fall of the Syrian regime. "We have recently witnessed a dramatic change unfolding in the Middle East. Enemies who once seemed threatening and invincible have now fallen thanks to the strength of the IDF and its shift from defense to attack. We are still in the midst of the conflict, but now is the time to complete the mission and take advantage of the collapse of the axis of evil to strike at Iran, the head of the snake, with all its power and might, before it can recover from the series of blows we have dealt to it and its proxies.
“There is another front remaining, the last Iranian stronghold, here in Judea and Samaria. The last hope of the axis of evil is to establish a Palestinian state there, which would serve as a launching pad for the occupation and complete destruction of Israel. Here too, we must shift from a policy of defense to attack, dismantle all terrorist cells, strengthen Jewish residence, and continue to put facts on the ground, to prevent, for once and for all, any possibility of a Palestinian state," he added.
On the beginning of Prime Minister Netanyahu's testimony, amidst the controversy surrounding the case, he stated: "Tomorrow, the Prime Minister is expected to give testimony in court for several hours, as requested by the Attorney General and the Prosecution, who are unwilling to postpone the testimony, despite the ongoing security and dramatic events we face.
As members of the cabinet, we are exposed to all information, including confidential and other classified information that cannot be made public. Therefore, I initiated a letter signed by all cabinet members, urging the State Attorney and Court Administrator to postpone the testimony and allow the Prime Minister to focus on managing the security situation. The fact that the Prime Minister is required to testify during such a critical time is not only surreal, but also severely undermines national interests. Ignoring this serious warning could lead to security delays and we do not even want to consider what the outcome might be.”
"I hope that at this crucial moment, the State Attorney and the Court will reconsider their stance and allow the Prime Minister to focus on the urgent matters in Israel during these times," Smotrich concluded.