Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton (New Hope) spoke on Monday at the 21st Jerusalem Conference and discussed Israel's situation, more than four months after the Hamas attack of October 7.
"We have been talking all the time since that Shabbat, there is a feeling that we are going backwards in our discourse and conduct. We have soldiers who been called for reservist duty, but citizens in the State of Israel have another order: Unity. We need to get through these challenging times. The State of Israel is facing challenges on several fronts. This is the war that is taking place in both the north and the south, it’s the hostages who are still in the captivity of Hamas. It is tens of thousands of evacuees, including my family, who have been away from home for almost five months, without a routine and without a horizon of when they will return. And the international atmosphere that has all kinds of plans for us about a 'Palestinian state', giving them a prize for the terrorist attack we received. So no. The very discourse about a Palestinian state is a hallucination at this time. In order to stand up to these challenges, we must all be together. Because we do not have the privilege of having anything different," said the minister.
"Would I like a different political reality? Yes. It's not a secret. Would I like the elections to be moved up, so that we'll go to elections after the war? Yes, that's not a secret either," she added, but noted that Israel cannot afford an election campaign now.
"Elections will tear us apart from the inside. They will only deepen the chaos. Therefore, we have no choice at this time but to put all considerations and egos aside and see only the good of the State of Israel, because in this reality we are together. Afterwards, there will be an opportunity to make the political correction and it will have to be done," said Shasha-Biton.
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