Smotrić opposes new efforts for a cease-fire in Gaza

Israel's far-right finance minister Bezarel Smotrich expressed his intention to oppose new efforts to stop the war in the Gaza Strip announced yesterday by intermediaries Qatar, Egypt, and the United States.

He wrote in a long post,”This is not the time to fall into the dangerous trap of “mediators” imposing a “method” on us and imposing surrender agreements that waste the blood shed in the most legitimate war we are waging” I wrote.

He also stated that reaching a still-hypothetical agreement with Hamas would “plunge Hezbollah into the skepticism of northern residents,” and “downplay Israel's deterrent power and image in the Middle East, and show it as a weak sponsor.”

Mr. Smotrich asked Prime Minister Netanyahu not to give up “even one step” from an unyielding front line in negotiations. According to reports, the previous negotiations, which took place in mid-July, were the main obstacle preventing an agreement from being reached.