Israel's Bezalel Smotrich sparks anger after saying captive return 'not important'
Israeli Finance Minster Bezalel Smotrich has provoked an angry backlash after he suggested that the release of captives in Gaza was "not the most important thing" for the goverment.
On Monday, Smotrich said in an interview with Galey Israel radio that the "Gaza problem" must be eliminated, citing a "tremendous opportunity".
Smotrich believes the end of former US President Joe Biden's tenure at the White House and the political demise of rivals, like former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and former Israeli army chief of staff Herzi Halevi, means there are no longer any obstacles to fulfilling a hardline Israeli policy on Gaza.
"We have to say the truth, returning the hostages is not the most important thing," he said.
"It is obviously a very important goal, but if you want to destroy Hamas so that there can't be another October 7, you need to understand that there can't be a situation where Hamas remains in Gaza."
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
In response to Smotrich's statements, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum have hit back, saying: "The families have only one word this morning: shame. At least the minister is revealing the harsh truth to the public – this government has consciously decided to abandon the hostages.
"Minister Smotrich, history will remember how you hardened your heart to your brothers and sisters in captivity and chose not to save them – some from death, others from disappearance."
The forum has also demanded that other Israeli ministers speak up to "prove that they are still committed to the basic Jewish and Israeli values of redeeming captives and rescuing our brothers and sisters."
Einav Zangauker, the mother of captive Matan Zangauker, said Smotrich was willing to sacrifice Israel and her son for "his messianic and psychotic delusions."
"We must throw out Smotrich and Netanyahu in order to bring all the hostages home!” she said in a post on X.
MP Moshe Gafni, a member of the Haredi United Torah Judaism party, condemned Smotrich, likening his statement to slander.
"The return of the kidnapped is the most important issue," he stressed, adding that his party would hold a meeting to address the matter.
In response to the criticism from the Israeli public and officials, particularly Gafni, the finance minister has doubled down on his stance, warning that Israelis may be "in danger in the future if Hamas remains in power."
"It's a shame that you, Gafni, are also cooperating with the campaign to silence all those who refuse to surrender to Hamas, so they distort things and stoke the flames behind the families in order to harm the government," Smotrich added.
In January, Smotrich criticised the now-failed ceasefire deal, which was approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet.
He said at the time that Netanyahu had "decided to give the green light to a bad, catastrophic deal."
When Israel resumed its attacks on the besieged enclave in late March, Smotrich welcomed the decision, saying: "It's good that the war has begun, and it's unfortunate that it began this way, but we are changing the reality in the Middle East."
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
