MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism) criticized how the political echelon has managed the matter of Hamas' October 7 kidnapping of Israeli hostages and the terror group's refusal to release the remaining 50 hostages.
"There are hostage families on both sides of this debate," Rothman told the Knesset Channel. "I can understand them, because they are worried about their loved ones. My heart goes out to them and to their loved ones."
Rothman added, "If we don’t aim for defeat [of Hamas], we are endangering the hostages. If we go for defeat, if Hamas had understood from the first day of the war that the hostages they hold are not an asset but a burden, they would have released them and wouldn't have threatened to take more hostages. We are constantly under the threat of more soldier abductions."
He also noted, "We have warnings of kidnappings in various places. This is because, in our conduct as a country, we have made the hostages an asset for Hamas. Anyone who didn’t adopt the stance I presented from the first day - and not just me, even President Trump said the same thing - do not negotiate with terrorism."
Regarding the possibility that his party would leave the government, Rothman said, "If we are convinced that the government is giving up on defeating Hamas, we cannot see ourselves as part of the government. If the government is not aiming to defeat Hamas, we are not part of this event."