Smotrich’s Statement on Hostages: Political Honesty or Cold Betrayal?

Bezalel Smotrich.

In a moment that sent shockwaves through Israeli society, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich openly declared that bringing home the remaining hostages in Gaza is not the government’s top priority. Speaking on Galey Israel Radio, he claimed, “We have to say the truth… 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.”

While Smotrich insists the hostages' return is "very important," his phrasing—and the apparent shift in government priorities—drew immediate fire.

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum responded with fury, accusing the government of giving up on its citizens. “Shame,” they wrote. “History will remember how you closed your heart.”

Family members of hostages took to social media. Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan remains captive, denounced Smotrich’s “messianic and psychopathic delusions.” Lishay Miran-Lavi, wife of hostage Omri Miran, sarcastically thanked him for “saying publicly what the prime minister is afraid to say.”

Even within Smotrich’s own coalition, backlash was swift. MK Moshe Gafni of United Torah Judaism rejected the minister’s stance, calling it reminiscent of ancient zealots who prized national ideology over human life. Smotrich fired back, accusing Gafni of a “diaspora mindset” and asserting that the war’s end goal is to save lives.

Opposition figures went further. Yair Golan likened Smotrich’s position to offering “human sacrifices” on the altar of religious zeal. Yisrael Beytenu’s Avigdor Liberman reminded the public that Smotrich once called Hamas “an asset.” And Yesh Atid’s Yorai Lahav-Hertzano declared he and Smotrich “are not part of the same people.”

Currently, 59 hostages remain in Gaza. Of them, 24 are believed to be alive, awaiting a deal that stalled after Israel resumed military operations in March. Despite increasing public support for a deal—even at the cost of ending the war—the government remains firm. Netanyahu insists there will be no peace until Hamas is toppled.

But as the days go on and hope fades, many in Israel are asking: At what cost?

Comments

🔥 Gaza and the Grammar of Death: Achille Mbembe’s Necropolitics in the Age of Engineered Survival

By Malik Mukhtar (Full-Length Version with Mbembe Quotations) There are historical moments when the ordinary vocabulary of violence collapses . When “ conflict ,” “ occupation ,” and “ security ” no longer carry the weight required to explain what is unfolding before our eyes. Gaza is one such moment — a rupture in the moral architecture of the present. It is not simply a battlefield. It is an experiment in state-administered dying , in what Achille Mbembe named necropolitic s — the transformation of political power into the authority to dictate who may live and who must die. In Necropolitics (2003), Mbembe writes: “ The ultimate expression of sovereignty resides… in the power and the capacity to dictate who may live and who must die.” — Achille Mbembe, Necropolitics For Gaza, this is not theory. This is the daily grammar of existence. My book, Calculus of Survival: Necropolitics, Siege, and the Deionization of Life in Gaza , is situated squarely within this reality —...

The Leak That Broke the Mirror: Israel’s Moral Collapse at Sde Teiman

n R It was not the torture that shocked Israel. It was the fact that someone leaked it. Welcome to Sde Teiman — the desert detention camp that became a mirror to Israel’s moral decay, and to the world’s selective blindness. The Scene of the Crime The story begins, like most horror stories do these days, with a camera. On July 5, 2024, security footage inside the Sde Teiman military base caught what it was never meant to record: a Palestinian prisoner, blindfolded, bound, and dragged across the floor by Israeli soldiers. Moments later, the soldiers raised shields to block the camera — and behind that human wall, the real Israel revealed itself. When the shields dropped , the man lay broken: seven fractured ribs, a punctured lung, and a torn rectum so severe it required surgery and a colostomy. The anatomy of cruelty was complete. The Scandal That Wasn’t You would think such a crime would set off national outrage. But in Israel’s political universe , torture is an...

The World as Gaza: Necropolitics and the Calculus of Survival

“ The ultimate expression of sovereignty resides in the power and the capacity to dictate who may live and who must die.” — Achille Mbembe, “Necropolitics” There are philosophies that dissect history, and there are philosophies that bleed through it. Achille Mbembe’s Necropolitics belongs to the latter — it is not an academic exercise, but a diagnosis of the world’s moral decay. In his words, modern sovereignty is no longer about governing life — it is about managing death . It decides who is allowed to breathe, who must suffocate, and who will exist in the space between. Nowhere is this calculus of death more visible, more technologically refined, and more ethically bankrupt than in Palestine . The siege of Gaza has transformed necropolitics from theory into geography — a place where the architecture of control and the arithmetic of survival intersect. The Right to Kill, the Duty to Let Die In Necropolitics , Mbembe extends Foucault’s biopower — the power to “...

The Science of Fear: How Islamophobia Became a Campaign Strategy

When Zohran Mamdani stood before a roaring crowd and declared, “ No more will New York be a city where you can traffic in Islamophobia and win an election,” he wasn’t just celebrating victory — he was delivering a eulogy for a long, poisonous political playbook. Because let’s face it — Islamophobia has never just been about prejudice. It’s been a strategy — polished, funded, and weaponized into one of the most successful vote-getting formulas in modern politics. The Machinery of Fear The arithmetic is simple — and sinister . Take a minority that makes up barely 2% of the U.S. population . Turn them into the symbolic threat for the other 98%. Feed that fear with millions of dollars , wrap it in the flag , and sell it as “security. ” According to a 2021 CAIR report , more than $105 million was funneled to just 26 anti-Muslim organizations between 2017 and 2019 — money laundered through “ mainstream charitable ” institutions. That’s not democracy in action. That’...

How to Oppose Annexation Without Actually Opposing It: The Trump Doctrine of Elegant Hypocrisy

The Art of Saying No While Handing Over the Keys: Trump’s De Facto Annexation Gift to Israel Ah yes — the era of “ principled diplomacy.” The Trump administration, that self-proclaimed guardian of “fairness” in the Middle East, will forever be remembered for its masterclass in political double-speak — a rare performance where the United States verbally opposed Israel’s annexation of the West Bank while physically laying down the red carpet for it. It’s like saying, “ Please, don’t steal the car,” while quietly tossing over the keys, disabling the alarm, and complimenting the thief’s driving skills. The Great Paradox — or Just the Great Performance? Let’s call it what it was: a paradox of diplomacy , or perhaps more accurately , a farce performed for global consumption . In words , the Trump administration urged restraint — telling Netanyahu that annexation should be “coordinated,” “negotiated,” and “timed wisely.” In reality , it was busy dismantling every legal and dip...

Ainnbeen

Search This Blog