Yedioth Ahronoth: Sharp disagreements between Smotrich and Zamir over the Gaza war

A sharp disagreement erupted between Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir over the continuation of the war on the Gaza Strip during a cabinet meeting.

The Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported on Wednesday that the cabinet meeting held on Tuesday witnessed sharp confrontations between Smotrich and Zamir, with the latter warning that a complete occupation of the Gaza Strip would take years and that the concentrated raids would continue, which angered the finance minister.

Smotrich responded by saying, “We miss (former Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi)” attacking him in a sharp tone, in a clear reference to the ongoing tensions between Smotrich and the army leaders, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.

Yedioth Ahronoth noted that Smotrich has previously attacked Halevi, and now appears to be using the same tactic against Zamir, due to his disappointment with the army’s plans for action in Gaza.

Yedioth Ahronoth noted that Smotrich always protests against voices calling for limited raids on the Gaza Strip and calls for the continuation of the war on the Strip.

Yedioth Ahronoth quoted the finance minister as saying, “Don’t we have anything to do in Gaza? On the contrary… Gaza is an integral part of the Land of Israel”.

On Tuesday, Smotrich said that Israel is closer than ever to reoccupying the Gaza Strip and settling there.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had presented the cabinet with a plan to occupy parts of the Gaza Strip, allegedly in an attempt to keep Smotrich in the government after he threatened to resign following Tel Aviv’s allegations that it had allowed the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip.

According to an Israeli official, “Israel will give Hamas several days to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza, or implement the plan to annex parts of the Strip in stages until the Palestinian movement surrenders”.

The Israeli official claimed that the plan has received approval from the US administration.

The proposal to occupy parts of Gaza comes after controversial statements by US President Donald Trump, in which he said that “Israel’s decision to abandon Gaza twenty years ago was unwise,” referring to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005.

The Israeli opposition and former military leaders accuse Netanyahu of sabotaging the prisoner exchange deal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip for political reasons.