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Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned at the weekly Religious Zionism faction meeting Monday that the current proposal for a hostage deal would constitute “a defeat and humiliation for Israel and a victory for [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar."
Smotrich presented a photograph of Sinwar making a 'victory' sign with his hands and said, "This is the picture we will see in Gaza if God forbid we sign this terrible deal."
According to Smotrich, the deal "will sentence to death 90 hostages who are not part of the deal and it will result in thousands of murdered people who will die in the next massacre by Sinwar and Hamas."
Addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Smotrich said, "Mr. Prime Minister, this is not the complete victory [you promised]. It is the complete failure. We will not be part of a deal to surrender to Hamas."
"The people of Israel, the bereaved families, and the IDF soldiers demand victory. We must not disappoint them. We must not endanger the country", said Smotrich.
Earlier, Opposition leader Yair Lapid stated that his party will add their votes to those of the coalition if Prime Minister Netanyahu agrees to a prisoner exchange deal.
He also stated that the 'safety net' applies even if the vote would otherwise lead to the collapse of the coalition.