Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) voiced his opposition on Tuesday to US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to it in Washington on Monday evening.
Calling Netanyahu’s visit to the White House a “resounding diplomatic failure,” Smotrich made his remarks soon after outlining his “red lines” to the prime minister on Monday morning, signaling that his far-right party could leave the government, depending on the Washington meeting’s outcome.
His party met on Tuesday afternoon for consultations to determine its next move, but did not announce the conclusions reached in the meeting by press time in the evening.
However, Smotrich did say earlier on Tuesday that agreeing to the plan was “an act of willful blindness that ignores every lesson of October 7.”
“In my estimation, it will end in tears,” he added. “This is a tragedy of a leadership that is running from the hard truth.”
'I have a lot to say'
“I have a lot to say, and, God willing, I will do so after a series of consultations I’m holding today,” Smotrich said.
“Is there still a chance that something good might come out of this, that the enemy’s stubbornness will once again save us from ourselves, as it has many times before?” Smotrich asked, referring to the fact that Hamas had still not agreed to Trump’s plan.
The other far-right party in the government, Otzma Yehudit, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has yet to respond to the proposal. It has reportedly been considering its next steps following Netanyahu’s approval of the plan.
Ben-Gvir’s or Smotrich’s departure from the government could potentially trigger elections.
Otzma Yehudit had already resigned from the government once in January, in a move done to oppose the hostage deal struck with Hamas.
Two months after his registration, Ben-Gvir and his party returned to government after Israel renewed its strikes in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, other ministers have expressed their firm support for the plan, along with opposition MKs who have been pushing for a hostage deal.
Among the points listed in Trump’s plan is the return of all the hostages currently held in Hamas captivity within the time frame of 72 hours, once all sides agree to it.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) has given Netanyahu a “political safety net” to advance a hostage deal. He said on Tuesday that he updated the Americans about this so that all involved parties can “move forward immediately.”
He stated that the plan was “not perfect, but is the best option currently on the table.”
Lapid also said that individuals like Ben-Gvir who “say no” to the deal are not the ones preventing it from coming to fruition, but rather people like Netanyahu, “who say: ‘Yes, but...”
Netanyahu usually “says ‘yes’ in Washington, standing in front of the cameras at the White House, feeling like a breakthrough statesman,” Lapid said. “Yet he says ‘but’ as soon as he returns home, where his ‘base’ reminds him who the boss is.”
“We must say ‘yes’ to the plan without a ‘but,’ and act to implement it immediately despite all the obstacles,” he added.
“These are critical hours, and Yesh Atid’s 24 MKs will enable the agreement to pass,” Lapid said.
The head of the Blue and White Party, Benny Gantz, said that his party would offer its support to Trump’s proposal.
“We will not allow petty politics to sabotage the plan,” Gantz said.
MK Avigdor Liberman, the chair of Yisrael Beytenu, which is also in the opposition, expressed support as well, stating that “any initiative that brings all the hostages home must be welcomed.”