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Israel’s Smotrich supports Saudi normalisation deal but not ending Gaza war

February 4, 2025 at 12:54 pm

Israeli Minister of finance and leader of National Zionism, Bezalel Smotrich, speaks to the press during a party meeting in Jerusalem on February 5, 2024 [Amir Levy/Getty Images]

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, yesterday said he had set up the “red lines” that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must not cross ahead of his meeting with US President Donald Trump today, including “ending” Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

“For example, leaving the Philadelphi Corridor is a red line for me,” Smotrich said at the start of the Religious Zionism faction meeting, adding that any position adopted by Netanyahu during the talks with Trump must preserve Israel’s security interests without any concessions that might affect the Gaza war goals.

Smotrich has previously warned that he will leave the coalition government if Israel does not resume the war on the besieged enclave following the first phase of the ceasefire.

“The harsh prices and scenes we see in Gaza, including images of Hamas asserting its rule and control on the ground, cannot be ignored,” he added, stressing that these manifestations confirm the need to continue military operations until the “total annihilation” of Hamas.

“If, heaven forbid, we do not achieve this, it will only be a matter of time before they regroup and launch the next massacre. We are determined and are preparing for this,” he added.

Smotrich also said that he supports expanding Israel’s normalisation deals with Arab countries to include Saudi Arabia, which he had opposed in the past, but warned that “they must be based on truth, not lies”.

“The [deals] must be based on truth and not on lies, such as the notion that Arabs have national rights in the Land of Israel.  Furthermore, they must not come at the expense of the security of Israeli citizens, which includes achieving the objectives of the war: destroying Hamas’ military and governmental power, removing the threat, and returning all the hostages,” he added.

READ: Israel’s Smotrich demands resuming Gaza war, displacing Palestinians