Israeli Settlements and National Missions Minister Orit Strook warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday against agreeing to end the war against Hamas during negotiations on the second phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire with the terrorist group.
“This is really the moment of truth for Prime Minister Netanyahu,” said Strook, whose Religious Zionist Party agreed to stay in the government on the condition that Israel return to fighting in Gaza if Hamas’s terror rule isn’t overthrown during the initial 42-day stage of the agreement.
If Netanyahu agrees to Hamas’s demands to end the war prematurely, the Jewish state will become “the punching bag of all its enemies in the Middle East,” she charged in an interview with Israel’s Army Radio station.
If the prime minister “decides to go in this disastrous direction,” then the Religious Zionism Party will “make sure that the government does not continue to exist,” she said.
"ישראל תהפוך להיות ילד הכאפות של אויביה" • השרה סטרוק ל-@amirivgi: "אם נתניהו ימשיך ללכת במסלול האסוני של העסקה – התהום איומה והתהרסקות ודאית"#יומןהצהריים pic.twitter.com/1fEeCFuGUe
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) February 4, 2025
Strook’s remarks came just hours before a meeting between Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, during which the two leaders are expected to discuss the deal’s second and third phases.
As stipulated in the Jan. 19 deal, talks on the second phase are set to begin on the 16th day, coinciding with Netanyahu’s visit to the United States.
Among other issues, Israel and Hamas are set to discuss Gaza’s future governance, including the end of the terrorist group’s rule.
The talks will take place via shuttle diplomacy led by the Trump administration, moving between the Jewish state and mediators Qatar and Egypt after the conclusion of this week’s discussions in Washington.
Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich has said that the United States has provided Jerusalem with a written guarantee that it can return to fighting if the negotiations collapse.
Trump and former President Joe Biden have both confirmed in writing that the Jewish state “will be able to return to the war on day 43” if negotiations fail during the first phase, Smotrich told JNS on Jan. 21.
Commenting on the conditions for the agreement with Hamas to last through the second stage, Smotrich said that “our condition is that there is no Hamas.” If the terrorist organization agrees, “great, we don’t want to fight. But if it doesn’t agree, we can return to the war,” he concluded.
