Search
Search

GAZA CEASE-FIRE

Smotrich calls truce deal a 'bluff,' criticizes Halevi

The Israeli minister had claimed on Saturday that Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to his request to "render Gaza uninhabitable" and "conquer" it.

Smotrich calls truce deal a 'bluff,' criticizes Halevi

(Credit: AFP File Photo)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party, said in an interview with Army Radio that Israel should "conquer the entire Strip and establish military rule there. I want a [Israeli army] chief of staff who understands that this is his mission, who stands behind it and is determined to implement it," reported Haaretz.

"There's no third party that can control the Strip, it's a bluff," Smotrich said. "We need to control Gaza for at least one to two years, with a combined military and civilian effort, until we eliminate Hamas and the population stops fearing it."

 Smotrich also heavily criticized Israel's chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, saying the Israel "cannot win as long as he remains in charge."

Bezalel Smotrich is one of the heavyweights of the Israeli far-right, along with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, with whom Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed the coalition to form his government.

After the Israeli executive's decision to accept a truce in Gaza, Itamar Ben Gvir and his Otzma Yehudit party announced that their ministers were officially leaving the governing coalition.

 Smotrich had told Hebrew media on Saturday that Benjamin Netanyahu had acceded to his request and pledged to change the course of the war, with the goal of Israel's total control of the Palestinian enclave. "Look at Gaza, it is destroyed, uninhabitable and it will remain so," Smotrich said in a statement.



Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party, said in an interview with Army Radio that Israel should "conquer the entire Strip and establish military rule there. I want a [Israeli army] chief of staff who understands that this is his mission, who stands behind it and is determined to implement it," reported Haaretz."There's no third party that can control...