
Settlement Minister Orit Strock on Tuesday evening demanded that the divisive speech and silencing of differing opinions come to an end.
In her statement, Strock called for Israelis to understand that people are allowed to disagree with the hostage deal, without being criticized for it.
"To all those silencing others: I, together with a large portion of the nation, oppose the deal and have explained why. Deal with my position, our position, without de-legitimizing it, without demonizing us, and without trying to insert a wedge between public representatives and the public they represent," she said.
"Allow responsible and serious discourse about all components of this difficult dilemma, and make claims that are on the topic," she concluded.
Under the first stage of the deal, the Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza reopened without an Israeli presence at the crossing, and Hamas terrorists are allowed to leave to Egypt for medical treatment and re-enter Gaza later. Gaza is also receiving increased humanitarian aid, over half of which goes to Hamas to fund terror activities. Thirty-three Israeli hostages are being released, eight of whom are no longer alive, at a rate of one civilian hostage in exchange for 30 terrorists, and one soldier hostage in exchange for 50 terrorists. Over 100 of the terrorists released have blood on their hands and were sentenced to life in prison, and dozens more were given lengthy sentences.
Around 82% of terrorists released in the November 2023 agreement have returned to terror; dozens have been re-arrested and at least two have been killed in counterterror operations. Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7 massacre, was released "without blood on his hands" during the 2011 "Shalit deal" and went on to mastermind the massacre. Alongside him, around 82% of the other terrorists released in the Shalit deal resumed terror activity after their release, and dozens of Israelis have been killed by released Shalit deal terrorists in the years since.