Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political advisor Ophir Falk commented in an interview with the Sunday Times on the ceasefire proposal made by US President Joe Biden on Friday.
"It's not a good deal, but we dearly want the hostages to be released, all of them. There are a lot of details to be worked out and that includes there will not be a permanent ceasefire until all our objectives are met," Falk said.
According to Falk, the speech Biden gave on Friday was “a political speech for whatever reasons.”
Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir clarified on Saturday night that they would resign from the government if Israel agreed to Biden's latest ceasefire outline.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, "I spoke with the Prime Minister and made it clear to him that I will not be part of a government that agrees to the proposed outline and ends the war without the destruction of Hamas and the return of all the hostages. We will not agree to an end to the war before the destruction of Hamas, nor to a serious harm to the achievements of the war so far through the withdrawal of the IDF and the return of Gazans to the north of the Gaza Strip, and not for the wholesale release of terrorists who will return, God forbid, to murder Jews."
He added, "We demand the continuation of the fighting until the destruction of Hamas and the return of all the hostages, the creation of a completely different security reality in Gaza and Lebanon, the return of all residents to their homes in the north and south and a massive investment in the accelerated development of these parts of the country."
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir stated that "the deal as was published today - means the end of the war and giving up on eliminating Hamas. This is a reckless deal, which constitutes a victory for terrorism and a security threat to the State of Israel. Agreeing to such a deal is not the absolute victory - but rather the absolute defeat. We will not allow for the war to end without the complete elimination of Hamas."
