Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich believes that "the army leadership does not know its limits, and instead of intensifying the fighting, it supports an illegal exchange deal." He stated, "We must not ease the military pressure on Hamas," emphasizing that "we should not enter again into a cycle of futile talks that would harm the accomplishments of the war."
During a meeting of the "Religious Zionism" party, which he leads, Smotrich mentioned that "Israel is facing enormous international pressure to compel it to commit suicide and accept the establishment of a Palestinian state." He added that all means are being used to achieve this goal, including "imposing sanctions on settlers, including threats to impose sanctions on me personally, and unilateral recognition and baseless separate resolutions in The Hague (International Court of Justice)."
Smotrich continued: "I will never give up. We will do everything we can to ensure that a Palestinian state is never established in the land of Israel, which could jeopardize our existence." He further noted, "We work day and night in the field to thwart that and are working to apply Israeli sovereignty." He also urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to remain silent in the face of sanctions imposed on individuals and Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
