Netanyahu makes deal to keep Ben Gvir and Smotrich from leaving the government

On Tuesday, Netanyahu offered the ministers, among other things, tightened security and increased construction in Judea and Samaria.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered a deal to cabinet members who oppose the hostage deal, provided that they remain in the government, according to Kan news reports.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to leave the government over their disagreement with the current hostage release plan.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu offered the ministers, among other things, tightened security and increased construction in Judea and Samaria.

Ben Gvir had threatened to leave the government over his opposition to the hostage deal and invited Smotrich to do the same.

Although Ben Gvir boasted that he was able to use his political influence to “repeatedly prevent this deal from being implemented,” he added that “others have aligned with the government and, by supporting the deal, we are no longer a decisive factor.”

Therefore, he approached Smotrich and said, “I am urging you, my friend, to join me in opposing the surrender deal with Hamas. The Religious Zionism party alone cannot stop this agreement. I propose that we approach the Prime Minister together and make it clear that if he pushes forward with the deal, we will withdraw from the government.”

Ben Gvir and Smotrich feel that the hostage release deal threatens Israel’s security and would mean that “hundreds of soldiers died in vain.”

Ben Gvir said, “The emerging deal is catastrophic. I know the details all too well: the release of hundreds of murderous terrorists from prison, the return of Gazans to Gaza—among them, thousands of terrorists to the northern part of the strip—the withdrawal of the IDF from the Netzarim Corridor, and the re-establishment of the threat to the residents of the Gaza Envelope.”

He added, “This deal would erase the hard-earned gains of the war, bought at the high cost of our soldiers’ blood. What’s even worse, not all the hostages will be freed, and it effectively condemns the remaining hostages to death.”

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