Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich took to social media to voice his opposition, stressing that the only acceptable outcome of the current campaign in Lebanon is the complete defeat of Hezbollah. “The campaign in the north should end in one scenario — crushing Hezbollah, denying its ability to harm the residents of the north,” Smotrich tweeted, calling for an uncompromising approach to the conflict.
Smotrich argued that halting the fighting now would give Hezbollah valuable time to reorganize and rearm, potentially prolonging the war. “The enemy must not be given time to recover from the heavy blows it received and to reorganize for the continuation of the war after 21 days,” he said. In his view, only the terror group’s total surrender could justify ending military operations in the north.
The pushback comes amid reports from British media outlet Sky News, which quoted unnamed US officials saying they “expect” a three-week truce to be implemented “in the coming hours.” However, Israeli officials have previously downplayed the likelihood of such a ceasefire, indicating that the chances remain slim.
Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock, a member of Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionism party, also rejected the idea of a ceasefire. Strock argued that ending the fighting prematurely would be a grave mistake, with no moral basis. “There is no moral mandate for a ceasefire, not for 21 days and not for 21 hours,” she said, urging Israeli leaders to avoid repeating past errors.
Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, also from the far-right, condemned efforts to secure a truce as “dangerous hypocrisy.” He expressed frustration at what he perceives as international double standards, accusing those pushing for a ceasefire of failing to hold Hezbollah accountable for its provocations. “Whoever did not know how to restrain Hezbollah during a whole year of incessant shelling… should not preach to us when we fight back,” Eliyahu stated. “We will not give up our security for fake ‘peace,’” he added.
Eliyahu’s Otzma Yehudit party announced it would hold an “urgent meeting” to discuss the issue, signaling their strong opposition to any ceasefire.
Culture Minister Miki Zohar of Netanyahu’s Likud party also voiced concerns, warning that agreeing to a ceasefire would undermine the significant security gains Israel has made in recent days. “I hope these reports are not true,” Zohar said, referring to the Sky News report. “A ceasefire would be a serious error that endangers Israel’s major security achievements in recent days.”
Likud MK Tally Gotliv also urged Netanyahu to resist international pressure, tweeting directly to the prime minister. “Withstand the pressure,” she wrote, signaling a unified front within the coalition against the ceasefire proposal.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
