Families of fallen soldiers and terror victims urge Smotrich, Ben-Gvir to fight against “surrender to Hamas.”
By World Israel News Staff
A ceasefire and hostage deal with the Hamas terror group appears imminent, raising questions about whether the agreement may spell the end of the current Israeli government coalition.
The Religious Zionist Party, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is the head of Otzma Yehudit faction, have both expressed their opposition to the deal.
Smotrich said that his party will not support the agreement, which he deemed a “catastrophe for Israel’s national security.”
In a media statement, Smotrich described the truce as a “a surrender deal that would include releasing terrorists, stopping the war and dissolving the achievements that were bought with much blood, and abandoning many hostages.”
The current outline for the hostage deal would see 33 hostages – an unknown number of them alive – released in the first stage. Those hostages include all women and men over the age of 50.
In exchange, thousands of Palestinian terrorists, including those serving life sentences for murdering Israelis in terror attacks, would be freed from Israeli prisons.
Healthy men under the age of 50, including soldiers, would be left in Hamas captivity, pending further negotiations for the next stage of the deal.
“The emerging deal is a security and moral bankruptcy. It is a complete surrender to Hamas, which will lead to the strengthening of terrorism and endanger the security of Israeli civilians. A government that approves such a deal is unworthy of continuing to rule,” the families of fallen soldiers and victims of terror attacks wrote to Smotrich and Ben-Gvir in an open letter.
The families, who are part of the Choosing Life advocacy group, demanded that the lawmakers vote against the deal and threaten to bring down the government if it moves forward.
“This is a moment of truth – you must lead this fight, even if it means leaving the government,” the families wrote. “This is a moral, ethical, and national call – we must not surrender to terrorism. The responsibility is on you.”
According to a report from Hebrew-language outlet Walla, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met with both Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, in the hopes of persuading them to vote against the agreement while remaining in the coalition.