Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar (Likud) expressed his full backing for US President Donald Trump’s hostage-ceasefire deal, stating that there is a clear majority of ministers planning to vote in favor of it in the upcoming government meeting, speaking to The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
Israel's security cabinet is set to convene on Thursday evening, and subsequently, a government meeting will take place to vote on proceeding with the deal. Israel’s ceasefire with Hamas will only begin if the deal is approved in the meeting.
A clear majority will support the deal
“There’s a clear majority in the government to approve and support the deal,” Zohar told the Post.
Zohar’s statements come as right-wing ministers, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit), are both expected to oppose the deal during the vote.
Zohar remarked that he still hopes Ben-Gvir and Smotrich won’t oppose it, and that “they’ll also see the positive aspects of the deal.”
“That’s the right thing to do,” he added.
Elaborating on why the deal is the correct move for the country, Zohar said that it should be accepted since Israel “achieved the goals it set for itself” following the Hamas attacks on October 7.
“We need to remember that Israel’s war objectives are the return of all hostages and the elimination of Hamas’s ability to control the Gaza Strip and attack Israel. These goals are being met as part of the deal,” Zohar said.
Regarding the Palestinian prisoner exchange that is expected to take place as part of the deal, Zohar said, "We need to understand there's what we'd like, and there's what's possible."
"We need to move forward with the deal, even if it comes with unpleasant prices that must be paid," since Israel has achieved its war goals, he said.
Smotrich stated on Thursday that he believes releasing Palestinian prisoners, whom he referred to as "the next generation of terror leadership," will have severe consequences. The released prisoners are planning to "do everything to continue spilling rivers of Jewish blood," he stated.
National Missions Minister Orit Strock, also a member of the Religious Zionist Party, will vote against the deal “no matter what,” her spokesperson told the Post.
While Ben-Gvir is expected to vote against the deal, his party is not yet planning to leave the government at this stage, his spokesperson said on Thursday.
Smotrich and Ben-Gvir both laid out “red lines” to Netanyahu for their respective parties to leave the government in response to the proposal last week.