Religious Zionism, Jewish Power MKs threaten elections if Netanyahu plan falls short of total Hamas defeat
Finance Minister and Religious Zionism chairman Bezalel Smotrich voted against the proposal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to have the IDF take control of the entire Gaza Stip, and later criticized Netanyahu, saying he has “lost faith” that the prime minister “can and wants to lead the IDF” to do so.
Smotrich strongly attacked Netanyahu’s proposal in a video statement uploaded to ?, saying it misleads both the Israeli public and the reservists, because it its goal is not a complete and final victory over Hamas, rather it is only intended to increase pressure on Hamas to reach a hostage-ceasefire deal.
“I have lost faith that the prime minister can and wants to lead the IDF there,” Smotrich said following the Cabinet decision.
Despite the prime minister ordering the IDF to seize control of the entire Gaza Strip, Smotrich said he does not believe Netanyahu intends to completely take control of Gaza.
“That’s not how you subdue, that’s not how to return hostages, that’s not how a war is won,” Smotrich said. “To send tens of thousands of fighters to maneuver in the city of Gaza while risking their lives, paying heavy political and international prices, just to put pressure on Hamas to release hostages, and then withdraw back – it is immoral and illogical folly.”
“Unfortunately, for the first time since the beginning of the war, I feel I just can’t stand behind this decision and back it up. My conscience does not allow this,” he continued.
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir also opposed Netanyahu’s plan, presenting his own proposal to the Security Cabinet, according to reports in Hebrew media. Zamir warned that the proposed plan would endanger the hostages while increasing the strain on the IDF.
On Thursday night, the Cabinet voted to adopt Netanyahu’s proposal. Maariv quoted the prime minister telling Zamir after the vote: “The plan you presented will not help the return of the hostages. The plan we have now approved will more effectively achieve the goals of the war.”
Zamir had reportedly noted that the evacuation of around one million Palestinians near Gaza City, in the central part of the enclave, is a complex process that could not be completed in the proposal’s timeframe.
Smotrich also blasted Netanyahu for appearing to support a plan that would guarantee victory over Hamas, only to make “a U-turn.”
“In recent weeks, I have worked intensively with the prime minister on a dramatic move to win in Gaza,” Smotrich said. “A combination of a quick military decision and an immediate political move that will exact a painful price from Hamas, destroy its military and civilian capabilities, exert unprecedented pressure on it to release the hostages and raise the spirit of the people of Israel. For weeks, it seemed that the prime minister supported the plan, he discussed its details with me and broadcast that he was going to a decision and that this time he intended to go all the way, but unfortunately he made a U-turn.”
Smotrich said that Netanyahu and the cabinet “gave in to weakness.”
“The prime minister and the Cabinet gave in to weaknesses, let emotion prevail over their senses, and decided to do more of the same again, and to embark on a military move whose purpose is not decisiveness, but only to exert pressure on Hamas in order to bring it to a partial hostage deal,” he stated.
On Sunday morning, Smotrich allegedly expressed a willingness to go to elections.
“As far as I’m concerned, it is possible to stop everything and let the people decide,” Smotrich was quoted as saying by public broadcaster Kan News.
Smotrich’s opinion appeared to be shared by others in his party. Religious Zionism party Knesset Member Zvi Sukkot said this morning on Army Radio: “In the current state of affairs, I think we should go to elections.”
Members of the Jewish Power party also expressed a willingness to go to elections. Knesset Member Yitzhak Kreuzer told 103FM Radio that the party will consider going to elections if the proposal does not lead to “the complete defeat of the terror organizations in the Gaza Strip.”
“There may come a point where we will have to return the mandate to the citizens of the State of Israel, when this government is certainly acting against the opinion of its own voters,” Kreuzer said. “When the prime minister leads the Knesset to provide aid and again maneuvers to reach a partial deal, we are certainly very opposed to that.”
In his remarks, Smotrich urged Netanyahu to change his mind.
“It’s not too late to reconsider,” Smotrich said, addressing Netanyahu. “Convene the cabinet again, and announce in no uncertain terms that there will be no more halfway measures. That there will be no more partial deals. That this time, we are moving towards a clear and decisive course of action leading to victory, culminating in the complete surrender of Hamas and the return of all hostages in a single operation, or its complete defeat and destruction. Annexation of large parts of the Gaza Strip and opening its gates to voluntary migration.”
Email received:
I agree with what you wrote, except for one thing – the population of Gaza must be transferred to other countries. It could be Jordan, Egypt, Albania, or other countries in Africa. Trump mentioned annexation of Gaza and the population transfer, at the beginning of his 2nd term. With his help, it could be done. In Gaza, there are about 1 million people. In the case of India and Pakistan, there was much more, and they did it.
1. Never permit any Muslim/Arab occupation in Judea/Samaria or Gaza.
2. Restore Jewish sovereignty throughout all of Gaza.
3. Celebrate God’s eternal Covenant made with the Jewish people and throughout every inch of Eretz Yisrael, the ancestral Jewish homeland.
1. Never permit any Muslim/Arab occupation in Judea/Samaria or Gaza.
2. Restore Jewish sovereignty throughout all of Gaza.
3. Celebrate God’s eternal Covenant made with the Jewish people and throughout very inch of Eretz Yisrael, the ancestral Jewish homeland.
What Bezalel Smotrich said makes sense but has he covered all bases? I think in this game of chess, we have to make sure of our intentions including the day after.
If the capability to restore Hamas remains, this is not the route we need to take. There are no two ways about this, and since we already know that Hamas would win elections in Judea and Samaria hands down, taking just Gaza is not the answer.
Israel needs a campaign to convince all those lovely countries that persist in telling us to stop fighting that their help is needed to apply overwhelming pressure on the Muslim and Arab countries to offer the “poor starving Palestinians” a new home. I’m sure, if they want to, they can accommodate a couple of million of their brethren.
Of course, maybe all those lovely countries prefer to hear the call to prayer 5 times a day, just like Obama.
The level of Bibi derangement syndrome makes TDS seem like a day at the beach by comparison.
Those from all sides need to STOP hounding Bibi while Israel is still at war. Americans think Trump has been put through the ringer, but his problems are child’s play compared to what Bibi has been going through. At least Trump has had a solid base of support through all of the lawfare and media and Democrat attacks, and he hasn’t been fighting a war on top of all that along with a worldwide campaign of hatred and demonization. Bibi in my view is Israel’s greatest and most resilient and strongest leader ever.
@Laura
I agree, but he is making some crucially significant mistakes which will be difficult and costly if not corrected, which is why he is being taken to task, and not by his enemies. This is not the equivalent of TDS which you are suggesting.
If Bibi is so great, how did he allow 7 October to happen? His army generals – all of them are Wexner Foundation people. Why didn’t he know what was going on on the border? How can it be? He voted 4 times FOR Unilateral Disengagement and only one time AGAINST it, when it was already too late. Doesn’t he understand that the way the war is conducted will not bring victory? Soldiers are dying, hostages are dying, but Gazans are receiving food, water, electricity…
@inna1
Good to hear from you again. You raise many questions, all of which place Bibi in a poor light. Still, I think these should be considered in turn.
In fact, October 7 was the result of an enormous intelligence failure, one of enormous magnitude, based around a false ideology that Hamas was manageable. Bibi was in part responsible for supporting this ideology, but he was also not informed of the full intelligence surrounding what was actually known on the wee hours of the morning preceding the attack.
Of course, while the intelligence failure was significant, the failures on October 7 were based on more sinister actions than simply this. Early in the morning of October 7, as the slaughters where expanding and the kibbutzim were still left isolated and alone, Bibi was trying to declare war on Gaza. The purpose of the declaration of war was to change the rules of engagement so that the army could use the full force of arms without the nonsensical court imposed provisions of engaging the enemy with care, so to speak. Bibi’s effort in doing so was actively obstructed by NGOs, the AG’s office and the courts. And so the onslaughts were left unaddressed for hours. Even after a response was mounted, the individual kibbutzim were cleared, not all at once, but in piecemeal, allowing the concentration of forces. Notably, we don’t know the whole fact pattern of what took place that day, but Bibi was only the Prime Minister in a nation which has been overtaken by a legal fraternity which is intent upon damaging him in the minds of the people, which is why a gag order was placed on him, prohibiting him from even revealing these facts to the public. So while Bibi is not blameless, these facts demonstrate that the institutions and procedures which were in place were in fact responsible for much (most I would argue) of the carnage which was allowed to proceed on October 7, even after his intelligence community hid any foreknowledge of the attack from him.
Bibi had a plan to remove the socialist constraints on the Israeli economy, thus unleashing the economic vitality of the nation, and removing it from being in large part a beggar state, dependent upon the West for loan guarantees and financial support. As he was developing this project, Sharon was promoting his disengagement project. Sharon made sure to keep Bibi on a leash, requiring his support on the disengagement for the economic reforms to be developed. This was the reason for the 4-1 voting record by Bibi. Perhaps Bibi believed he could ultimately vote against the disengagement, but by then, facts on the ground were well accepted as a foregone conclusion making the final vote purely ceremonial. He betrayed those who fought the disengagement and had expected his support in doing so, but he brought Israel to the heights of economic independence which it enjoys to this day, even amid this devastating war. It was a bitter choice to make, but it was the choice put before him by that rascal Sharon, and choice he made both caused October 7 and allowed Israel the financial stability to survive responding to it, in the same moment.
Do you believe that the US would support Israel as it employed the General’s plan, cutting aid/electrical/water, and starving out Hamas? I think it is clear that they would not. So is it believable that Israel could have made the achievements it has gained without the US? Perhaps, but the costs would likely have been far greater, and the achievements would likely have been far less significant.
Bibi is the long standing PM of Israel, but the nation is being managed by a Judicial system and Deep State which is supported and controlled by the US. Even now, the fifth columnists are calling for soldiers to stand down and for divisions in the nation as it is embroiled in a 8 front war. Over the past two years, Bibi has certainly not been perfect, but he has withstood the challenges which his opposition would have had Israel surrender to America’s pro-Iran faction, and the consequences of this would have been very difficult to bear or to reverse. In this hour, even with Trump running the US, Israel is expected, by the US, to behave unlike any other nation in world history, recalling once again that the Pals are an American equity. Hence, as obnoxious as this fact is a fact, Bibi has to act within the constraints which have been set for him, and as Avi Abelow has noted, nothing is written in Gaza, ie we may still be able to tease out Making Gaza Jewish Again despite Bibi’s declaration.
Thru this war, Bibi has been a good advocate for Israel, and in many ways the essential advocate. He has withstood many difficulties and seemingly insurmountable challenges, and though I disagree with his failure to annex Gaza in the strongest of terms, I do recognize the importance of the many achievements which he has secured, and hopefully, bringing a Jewish Gaza back to Israel will be possible in spite of his declarations otherwise.
@Peloni Terrific analysis, and in your usual concise, erudite, and cogent style.
@Sebastien
Thanks!
Laura, you probably are not very familiar with what Trump has been put through. And the fight is still on. It is awful. Yes, Bibi is under enormous pressure, but he will not win this war. As Pollard is saying: “Bibi is unable to push the trigger”. It’s true. Nothing is changing. Our soldiers are dying for what?
@inna1
I hope to see that you are wrong in making this statement, though it is difficult to state that you are. Every measure taken to secure the survival of the hostages takes us one step closer to defeat, at the cost of the lives of the soldiers, but also to the devestation and divisions within the nation.
There is a phrase which we should begin to share to highlight the truth of this strategy: Time is trauma. The longer the war is prolonged, the greater the slaughter on both sides, the greater the destruction and the less secure Israel will be left in the aftermath of the war. This war must be completed, quickly, for a number of reasons, but it won’t so long as the hostages are given the weight of control over the waxing and waning of the progress of the war.
Believe me, I know what they’ve tried to do to Trump. But my point was to show what Bibi has been through is even worse.