Smotrich says fall of Assad should mean fall of Hamas, Gaza occupation
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Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says now is the right time to take advantage of these developments and "powerfully strike Iran."
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Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at the Knesset in occupied al-Quds on July 10, 2023. (AP)
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad indicates a "dramatic change" linked to what he referred to as the "power" of the Israeli military and "the transition from containment and defense to initiative and attack."
According to Smotrich, now is the right time to take advantage of these developments and "powerfully strike Iran, which is the head of the snake, before it has time to recover from the series of blows we have inflicted on it and its arms."
During his party's weekly faction meeting, the minister also stated that Gaza must be occupied and the Palestinian Resistance movement, Hamas, must be destroyed, "to return all the hostages and ensure that it no longer poses a threat to Israel."
“The time has come to occupy the territory and take civilian control of Gaza from Hamas, thereby cutting it off from its source of oxygen that still keeps it alive," he declared, adding that rather than make captive agreements, "we need to step on the gas pedal, stop being afraid of our own shadow, and do what is required.”
Palestinian state 'dealbreaker' for Saudi normalization
Regarding the normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia, Smotrich asserted that "Israel" will not agree to normalize if a Palestinian state is a condition.
In an interview with Bloomberg, he stated, “If that’s a deal breaker, the deal will sink."
According to Western officials, Netanyahu is eager to achieve normalization with the Saudi kingdom but faces domestic opposition to any concessions to Palestinians and is aware that any move toward Palestinian statehood will shatter his ruling coalition.
Saudi authorities maintain that the establishment of a Palestinian state is in line with prior international agreements, and a necessary condition for long-term regional peace and security.
One Saudi official questioned, "How can we imagine a region integrated if we sidestep the Palestinian issue?" adding, "You can't prevent the Palestinian right to self-determination."
Despite Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman calling Israeli actions in Gaza a "collective genocide" in an address this month, it would seem as though a potential normalization could be revived when and if the war on Gaza ends and potentially under a new Israeli administration.
According to Smotrich, the next Trump administration "understands the obligation to ensure the future existence of Israel," which includes abandoning the two-state model and not allowing the Palestinian Authority (PA) to govern Gaza after the war ends.
Netanyahu has instead floated the concept of Arab nations like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia helping the administration of Gaza in the day after but those governments and others in the area have consistently refused to participate without the PA's involvement.
