MK Boaz Bismuth (Likud) spoke with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News after meeting in the Knesset with family members of the hostages who are being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
While the meeting was difficult for all involved, MK Bismuth asks to note that it was much more difficult for the families. "It's their families, it's their kids, sometimes it's even their grandparents, there's a hostage who's 86 years old," he says about the hostages' families.
"It's unbelievable how cruel Hamas is. It's like a horrible movie that we live in. It's been over six months since October 7th. So when families come here, they're entitled to be very angry. They want their family with them. Don't forget that October 7th was a horrific day. Try to imagine the most horrific movie you've ever seen and this was worse; slaughtering, raping, abducting, and killing, in front of your kids; killing a father in front of his son and vis versa. Those who were abducted, how can they recover? So today when they (the hostages' families) come to our lobby in order to say whatever they want, I will hug them and accept any criticism of all kinds. It's duty as a member of parliament to serve the people."
Regarding the current situation in the war and the withdrawal of troops from the Gaza Strip, Bismuth insists that the war is not over. "The war can not be over, because if the war is over then you can say goodbye to the Zionist dream. He explains: "There's a word called deterrence and deterrence also prevents wars, and Israel is considerably a very strong country with a very strong army. We don't only have Hamas as an enemy, we are also being attacked by the Houthis in Yemen, we're being attacked by Hezbollah, we're attacked by Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria, so it's a tough war. If G-d forbid, we would not win in a very clear way, with all of our hostages back and there not being a terrorist entity ruling Gaza, our enemies would see us as vulnerable. In order to change that, to regain deterrence, and to make sure they don't see us as vulnerable, we have to win and we have to win big. That is why the military maneuver not only did not end, but the war will go on."
MK Bismuth criticized international pressure on Israel to stop the war, especially the opinion piece written by French President Emmanuel Macron together with the King of Jordan and President of Egypt which called for a ceasefire. "I am so disappointed. I'm only thinking of the op-ed in the Washington Post signed by Macron, speaking about a ceasefire, a Palestinian state, giving UNRWA the chance to continue working. What are we talking about? Let's start with UNRWA: I'm passing a bill to kick UNRWA out of Jerusalem. UNRWA participated in the massacre of October, UNRWA humanitarian people, I mean terrorists."
As far as calls for a two-state solution, he says: "What are we saying by two states? You're giving a prize to terrorism. What are you saying to al-Qaida, to Boko Haram, to ISIS? 'Go, continue terrorism, because you know what? You gain.' That's what you tell the Muslim Brotherhood."
Regarding calls for a ceasefire, he adds: "Let's ask President Macron, I can do it in French, 'Ceasefire, what does it mean? Would you President Macron accept to live if Spain, for example, was a terrorist entity?' So it's a disgrace."
Bismuth says that the anti-Israel demonstrations are pure antisemitism. "I know a case of a person whose daughter is in the IDF, and her uncle, who lives elsewhere decided not to talk to her because she 'joined that army that kills babies.' What are we talking about? That's outrageous, pure antisemitism."