Smotrich (right) and Ben Gvir exchange conversations in the Knesset (European Archives)

Today, Wednesday, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for giving priority to defeating the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) instead of negotiating a prisoner exchange deal, supporting statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on the same issue.

Ben Gvir said in an interview with Israeli radio that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was wrong in sending the head of the Mossad to beg in all places and beg for the lives of Israelis, as he put it.

He added that we must not negotiate with Hamas, but rather kill them and stop bringing any aid into Gaza as long as Israel is unable to achieve anything for the detainees.

Israeli National Security defended the statements of the Finance Minister, who said that the recovery of Israeli prisoners in Gaza is not the most important thing, but rather the victory over Hamas.

Ben Gvir said that Israel will be able to return the detainees when victory is achieved, as he put it.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Israel must defeat the Hamas movement and destroy it in order to be able to return the detainees to their families, as he put it.

Smotrich added on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that the media and politicians continue to attack him and the Religious Zionist Party, saying that he "will not stop telling the truth that Israel must win and annihilate the Hamas movement because only in this way can the prisoners be restored."

In response to Smotrich's statements, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said that there is no victory without the return of the prisoners, and described the Finance Minister's statements as a moral disgrace.

The families of the prisoners demonstrate

Yesterday evening, dozens of Israelis demonstrated in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv in protest against Smotrich’s statements. Representatives of the families of the prisoners said that there was a campaign led by the government against them, and they added that they would not accept the reality of the presence of 134 prisoners held by Hamas at a time when the Minister of Finance says that their recovery Not the most important thing.

This comes as the families of Israeli prisoners continue their movement, blocking the street opposite the Ministry of Defense headquarters for the fifth time as an attempt to pressure the government and decision-makers in Israel to conclude an immediate prisoner exchange deal.

Exchange negotiations

Meanwhile, an Israeli political official said today that Tel Aviv has not made a decision to send a delegation to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to renegotiate a possible prisoner exchange deal and a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli Channel 13 quoted the same official as saying that Israel expects great flexibility from Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier that he was not ready to submit to the current conditions set by Hamas in order to reach an exchange deal.

Netanyahu described the movement's terms as imaginary and would lead to Israel's defeat in the war.

During his visit to the Zikim military base located within the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Prime Minister also said his commitment to achieving the goals of the war on the Gaza Strip.

Cairo recently witnessed multilateral talks on a possible ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

The negotiations faltered after Tel Aviv withdrew its delegation from the Egyptian capital and rejected the demands of Hamas, which stresses that any agreement must lead to a complete cessation of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since the seventh of last October.

Source: Al Jazeera + Anatolia