Ministers Gallant and Ben Gvir
Ministers Gallant and Ben GvirYonatan Sindel/Flash90

A dispute erupted at the Cabinet meeting on Sunday afternoon between Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, and Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, over a hostage deal. Gallant claimed: "Creating the conditions for the release of the hostages means that they have to give up something and we also have to give up something."

Minister Bezalel Smotrich replied: "Hamas must pay a price. We must take a piece of the Gaza Strip for every hostage who is murdered. Hamas wants us to surrender. It is impossible to take an entire country hostage. If we surrender to Hamas's demands as Minister Gallant wants, then we have lost the war."

Minister Itamar Ben Gvir added: "Until today, you claimed that we must not enact the death penalty for terrorists, because they will kill our hostages. Now it has been proven that they are murderers of hostages, regardless of what we do. Now is our opportunity to deter them – let Hamas pay a price and understand that we will not be intimidated."

Minister Eli Cohen emphasized: "If we back down, they will learn that they can murder our hostages and we give up."

Minister Yariv Levin noted that, "on October 7th we suffered a terrible tragedy, but we must not give up. We need patience and determination to continue the war, until we complete all its goals. I saw what the Minister of Defense posted on Twitter. As a citizen, I did not understand what he meant. Even if we made a decision on Thursday that you believe is wrong, we cannot create a situation where 'murdered hostages equals concessions.’ Where will this lead? What will it do to the negotiations? We don’t need to have such a vivid imagination to understand that. How can we function if everyone tweets their opinions on the Cabinet discussions. When the Cabinet reaches a decision, they must show unity and stand behind it. It is clear to all of us that the murder of the hostages demands a sharp and clear-cut response – without compromises."

Minister Gallant responded to the attacks. "I hear the comments you are sounding against me and my surrendering. I am just reminding you that I pushed for the maneuver – and I said that only military pressure will be effective." According to Gallant, "I want to see the experience each of you here have when it comes to fighting terrorism. Don't teach me about concessions. I fought and sent people to Beirut, Gaza, and other countries."

"We will conquer the Philadelphi Corridor within hours when we have 20-30 hostages in our hands. If we continue in this way, we will not achieve the war goals we have set for ourselves. The decision on Thursday is an unnecessary constriction and is secondary to the lives of the hostages. There is a serious spiritual weakening of the values ​​I was raised on," he emphasized.