Bennett on cease-fire request: Now is not the time to take the foot off the pedal

Bayit Yehudi ministers weigh in on Hamas' sudden request for a humanitarian cease-fire after breaking several before.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Economy Minister Naftali Bennett speaking to Fox News. (photo credit: screenshot)
Economy Minister Naftali Bennett speaking to Fox News.
(photo credit: screenshot)
Economy Minister Naftali Bennett (Bayit Yehudi) said Sunday that Israel needs to take advantage of the current opportunity to disarm Hamas, rather than acceding to UN requests for a cease-fire.
On the minister's Facebook page Sunday morning, Bennett likened the latest UN cease-fire request to a boxing match where the opponent is knocked to the ground.
"A cease-fire would be like lending a hand to the opponent to help him get up, and then giving him something to drink so he can compose himself," he wrote.
Bennett wrote that Hamas is desperate for a cease-fire so its forces can regain their strength and reorganize in order to continue to attack Israeli forces.
"Especially at this moment, it's impossible to take the foot off the pedal. Now is the time to be determined," he continued.
He wrote that failure to continue targeting terror in Gaza will only allow the enemy to get stronger and more empowered the next time around."
Israel and Hamas observed a 12-hour humanitarian cease-fire beginning Saturday morning.
Israel had agreed to the UN's request to extend the humanitarian cease-fire until midnight on Monday, which Hamas immediately rejected.
Later in the day, Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Bayit Yehudi) responded Sunday afternoon to Hamas' request for a humanitarian cease-fire after breaking the previous, Israel-agreed cease-fire earlier in the day.
"After breaking the cease-fire and killing our soldiers, Hamas is now on its knees begging for a humanitarian cease-fire," Ariel said. 
"Mr. Prime Minister, don't let them have it! Now is the time to strike them until the end and finish this story once and for all. The time has come for us to stop being nice."


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