Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in remarks this morning just hours before the ceasefire agreement was announced, called for the war to continue, but did not say whether he would bring down the government, as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called on him to do, or not. According to the Times of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly pressuring Smotrich to resist a call from Ben-Gvir to exit the government if it approves the hostage agreement on the table.
After several consultations on Jan. 14, including meetings with Netanyahu and his associates, Smotrich, who leads the Religious Zionism party, issued a video statement on social media saying, “We are at a crucial and fateful moment for the security, future, and existence of the State of Israel.” But Smotrich did not indicate how he plans to act regarding the hostage deal, stating that his only priority is “how to fully achieve the goals of the war, total victory, the complete military and civil destruction of Hamas, and returning the hostages home.”