Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday spoke at a Religious Zionism party meeting , answering a journalist's question about why the Israeli public should support Smotrich's position on a prisoner swap deal. "The vast majority of the Israeli public supports a deal even at the cost of ending the war," journalist Yuval Karni claimed. "Why should we be certain that what you are saying about this deal is correct, and what the other side is saying isn't?" Smotrich responded: "Because for thirty years, what I have been saying has proven true. When we opposed Oslo and we begged, 'Don't give them rifles,' they told us that we were just scaring the public - and we were right." Related articles: 'Do not summon Ronen Bar to discussions, do not work with him' Smotrich, Strock demand cabinet meeting on ISA targeting of Jews 'A historic revolution in Judea and Samaria' Israel cancels all import tariffs on US products "When we opposed the expulsion from Gush Katif and we warned of October 7th, they told us we were just scaring the public - but we were right. When we warned against the Shalit deal and the consequences of a mass release of terrorists, they said that we were needlessly scaring the public - but we were right." "Now we are warning again against the disastrous results of this reckless deal. Isn't it time to listen?"
