Knesset member Ohad Tal (Religious Zionism) spoke to Arutz Sheva - Israel National News about the possible agreement between Israel and Hamas on the release of the hostages and ending of the war.
“We have to be very careful about a deal with Hamas, but even more so we have to be very decisive. After what we've seen on October 7th, we have to understand that there's only one result for this war; a complete and clear victory for Israel over Hamas. We have to eradicate Hamas in a way that they will understand that the atrocities of October 7th cannot happen again,” says Tal.
MK Tal emphasizes, “Any other result than that, will be going back to the same point, to the same threat from the south, from Hamas on Israeli citizens. We have to make sure that Israel will win this war. This is the number one priority. Our obligation is not just for several people. Our obligation is for the 9 million citizens of Israel who have to go back to their homes knowing that there will be no more missiles launched and targeting their homes. That there will be no more people who will be kidnapped into Gaza in the next few years. It has to be very clear. This is why we have to end this war with a victory.”
According to MK Tal "from what we hear in media, the deal that is now on the table will not allow the IDF to go back to war after this ceasefire, which for sure will not be short, that I can promise. Even if we go back, it means that we are jeopardizing the lives of our soldiers who will go back into Gaza. But I have to tell you, Hamas learned one thing from the previous deal. He thought that we would not go back to fighting in Gaza, and he was really surprised that it actually did happen. Now he will ask the world to promise him, to give guarantees that Israel will not go back to fight in Gaza. So we cannot play according to his violin. We have to make sure that Israel will go back to fighting and also we have to make sure we're bringing back all of our hostages. That kind of a deal, as it was published, will keep the soldiers that were kidnapped in his hands. This is immoral.”
Tal says that he speaks to soldiers coming out of Gaza, “Every time we talk to soldiers that are coming back from the war, we always hear from them one thing – don't stop us. Let us go all the way, till the end. We have the ability. We're in the right spirit. Let us go all the way to make sure that Hamas will not have the ability, not just the will, but also the ability to threaten Israel any longer. We have one obligation to the 9 million people of Israel, we will not finish this war without completely eradicating Hamas. This is what we promised the people, and this is what we have to do also now.”