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Minister for Settlement and National Missions Orit Strock said Monday that achieving victory in the war in Gaza was more important than securing the release of hostages held by Hamas.
In an interview, Strock, a member of the far-right Religious Zionist Party, said this stance had once been the Israeli consensus and was even reflected in a past bill proposed by Opposition Leader Yair Lapid. She added that, while difficult, she would “with a heavy heart” be willing to “give up” on some hostages in order to achieve a “strategic victory” over Gaza.
"We don’t deserve neighbors who teach their children to dance when Israeli children are strangled to death," Strock said. "The land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel. Anyone who wishes to live here respectfully will receive full civil rights, and anyone who works against us will find himself out of the game."
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Strock has previously opposed agreements to secure hostage releases. Last July, she warned that if the Israeli military withdrew from the Netzarim and Philadelphi corridors in Gaza, her party would resign from the government, threatening to collapse the ruling coalition.
"We made this clear," she said at the time. "[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is well aware."
Religious Zionist Party leader and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has also warned that if Israel agrees to a cease-fire in Gaza, he would withdraw his party from the government, potentially bringing down the coalition.