Smotrich slams Ben Gvir for leaving gov't, skirting 'national responsibility'

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he decided to remain in the coalition, unlike fellow right-wing firebrand National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, out of "national responsibility."

Speaking on Sunday, he responded to Ben Gvir's calls for him and his party, Religious Zionism, to join Otzma Yehudit's ministers in leaving the coalition over the hostage release and ceasefire deal.

"I didn't resign because I have a national responsibility to win and secure, and I'm ready to pay a price for it," he said. He added that he is not fleeing the battle in the middle of the war, "even after a painful loss in one of its battles, just to keep my hands clean."

The issue was a matter of life and death, Smotrich said, which Israel could not afford to play with. Any ultimatum between Ben Gvir and Smotrich "would have provoked a counter one from [Shas chairman Aryeh] Deri and the ultra-Orthodox" parties.

Scuttling the deal for "political reasons" would cause a "galactic explosion," Smotrich said, adding "I'm not sure the person who pushed for it understands its meaning." Such an event, he said, would lead to a societal and political crisis, with streets burning from demonstrations. the burning of the streets.

Smotrich argued that if he was going to step down from the government, it would be an easy and expected step. He said the decision to leave was made out of "a lack of national irresponsibility," and that is amounted to "fleeing from the battlefield in the height of the war." Smotrich said he intends to turn the deal from a strategic defeat to a tactical loss, so that Israel could return to fight "until the destruction of Hamas, to ensure that the message will reverberate that anyone who kidnaps Jews dies."

"The supreme goal was and remains a complete victory over Hamas in Gaza," he added. "The continuation of successful operations that received a lot of divine support last year in all areas of warfare and brought about great achievements, at enormous painful costs."

"Toppling the government would inevitably lead to the cessation of the war," Smotrich concluded. "The left would have given [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu a safety net for a few months, only against the commitment to continue to the next stages of the deal and to end the war without destroying Hamas and toppling its rule in Gaza. Our remaining in the government on the condition of working towards victory gives a great chance of success in doing so."