Security Cabinet member and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on Israel on Tuesday to set an ultimatum for Hamas if it would continue to delay the release of hostages.
At the Haredi Strategy and Policy Institute conference, Smotrich declared: "We need to set an ultimatum for Hamas. To cut off the electricity and water, to stop the humanitarian aid. To open the gates of hell. We have to tell Hamas the moment we return to war after we round up all the terrorists, every hostage that something G-d forbid happens to, on that same day, we will annex 5% of the Gaza Strip. We have the full backing of President Trump."
He added: "There is now an argument about stopping the war. We can't stop the war a moment before the total destruction of Hamas. Trees were supposed to be planted today in the Be'eri forest and during the security assessment overnight, on the backdrop of the Hamas militant wing spokesman's announcement that it stopped the deal, we decided to cancel the event.
"Do you think someone in the Gaza envelope communities could live a long time with the threat from Gaza, where with every remark, every bit of intelligence, any doubt there's a situational assessment, rise in alertness, and events are canceled? Can anyone live like that?" Smotrich wondered.
He added: "We set the goals of the war on the night of October 7th: the total destruction of Hamas's diplomatic and governing abilities and that Gaza won't constitute a threat to the citizens of Israel. You can't live with a threat like this spitting distance from our communities. They made a very bad mistake; but during a ceasefire, the entire country needs to be scared because the spokesman of the Hamas militant wing said something? A normal independent state that wants to live and is responsible for the health and security of its citizens, and their mental health, can not live like this.
"We need to notify Hamas the moment we return to war, we need to rearrest all the terrorists that we released. It takes very little time and we need to announce something simple: in Gaza, there will be no Hamas, there will be no enemies, and there will be no threat to Israel. It will return to be part of the State of Israel since it is our land and that is the only way to ensure the security of the State of Israel," he concluded.