Israel's Religious Zionism party threatens to leave the government if it proceeds with second phase of hostage deal

Israeli lawmaker Moshe Solomon from the conservative Religious Zionism party warned on Monday that his party would leave the Netanyahu coalition government if it greenlights the second phase of the controversial hostage deal with the terrorist militia Hamas. 

“If phase two happens, we will leave the government,” Solomon told the Israeli Radio North. 

Religious Zionism ministers voted against the current hostage deal and demanded that Israel resume its military operations against Hamas within 42 days of the deal’s first phase.

Head of Religious Zionism and Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich issued an ultimatum in January, threatening to quit the government if their demands were not met.

“I won't be in the government for one day if we don't return to fight until victory. Whoever kidnaps hostages should die, and immediately after the release, we should come back and destroy him,” Smotrich said.

Solomon now urged the Netanyahu-led government to seize the opportunity to complete the war against Hamas with the backing of the U.S. Trump administration. 

"We understand that the government recognizes the magnitude of this moment, the extraordinary opportunity for a national right-wing government in light of the unprecedented opportunity we have with the US,” he argued. 

“I expect [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] and cabinet to fulfill their commitment where we complete phase 1 of the deal and act with military force against the Hamas terror organization. I believe this is how we can bring back the hostages who are there. Currently, phase 1 has ended with everything that was promised, despite Hamas's violations," he continued. 

While the overwhelming majority of the Israeli public backs the release of Israeli hostages, Israeli society is deeply divided concerning the issue of releasing convicted terrorists and murderers from Israeli jails. 

The Israeli lawmaker also addressed the current fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist militia Hezbollah. 

“We'll pursue all means, including both fighting and various agreements, like the northern agreement, which we periodically see being violated, and Hezbollah's repeated attempts to return to the borders," Solomon said.

"Therefore, when there are such violations and the new administration there doesn't change the reality, we will definitely return to fighting there and eliminate any capability to harm Israel's citizens' security, particularly northern residents, and the same goes for the south because Hamas is in critical condition and we must take advantage of the US administration change to complete the mission, and we must not stop mid-fight," the lawmaker demanded. 

Earlier this week Israel withdrew most of its military forces from southern Lebanon in accordance with the ceasefire deal with Lebanon.

Lebanon said it had deployed its military along the border with Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has vowed that Israel will act with full military strength against any Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire agreement.

It remains to be seen whether the new Lebanese government, which includes Hezbollah members, will be able to ensure that Hezbollah forces withdraw from southern Lebanon and move north of the Litani River. 

“Maybe we won't reach the Litani River, but there will be between five to ten kilometers of military control, [and] then we can provide security for northern residents," Solomon assessed.

Some 60,000 Israelis have been evacuated from their homes in northern Israel following Hezbollah’s unprovoked attack on Israel on Oct. 8, 2023. Despite reassurances from the Israeli government, it is currently unclear when the northern Israeli residents will be able to return to safety in their homes close to the Lebanese border. 

While admitting that Israel still faces security challenges, Solomon concluded by stressing the Israeli military’s achievements against Hezbollah on the northern front. 

"We're constantly focused on what we haven't achieved, but let's look at what we have achieved – Hezbollah is nothing like what it was a year and a half ago, not in its leadership, not in its military capabilities and service as an Iranian proxy – nothing is the same," he said. 

"So we should say that at this point in time, it's much better than it was a year and a half ago, and there's still a lot of work to do to fight and conquer the north," he concluded. 

Last year, Israel eliminated most of Hezbollah’s top leaders including its supreme leader, Hassan Nasrallah. The Israeli military has also estimated that some 80% of Hezbollah’s rocket arsenal has been used or destroyed.