Egypt says Smotrich sabotaging talks, as Israel weighs sending team to Cairo

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionist Party, is seen at a faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on December 11, 2023.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry accused Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of attempting to sabotage the negotiations for a hostage deal, as Israel weighed sending a team to Cairo for the latest round of talks.

“It is unfortunate and disgraceful that the Israeli Finance Minister, Smotrich, continues to make irresponsible and inflammatory statements,” the Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson posted on X.

His words “only reveal a hunger for killing and destruction, and sabotage any attempt to contain the crisis in the Gaza Strip,” the Foreign Ministry spokesperson wrote.

He spoke up after Smotrich told his faction that Egypt “bore considerable responsibility for what happened on October 7” given that arms were smuggled to Hamas largely through Egypt. He noted that separately Egypt wants “Israel to complete the job and eliminate Hamas.”

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson wrote, “These statements are completely unacceptable, as Egypt fully controls its territory” and it should not be blamed for the shortcomings of others.

Military personnel stand guard on the day of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s visit to the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah, Egypt, October 31, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY)

Military personnel stand guard on the day of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s visit to the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah, Egypt, October 31, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY)

Smotrich, who heads the Religious Zionist Party, also told the faction that he opposed any potential Israel decision to participate in talks for a hostage deal, given that it was better to assassinate Hamas leaders than talk to them.

Instead of sending Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar to Cairo for talks “with the Nazi enemy, he should continue to be sent to Rafah together with his men and IDF soldiers to destroy, kill and [seize] the heads of the murderers and of all the Nazi Hamas terrorists,” Smotrich told his Knesset faction.

He spoke after the IDF freed two of the remaining 136 hostages held in Gaza – Fernando Marman 60, and Luis Har, 70 – in a daring raid on a building in Rafah where they were held.

Standing firm?

The rescue mission came as Hamas and Israel have stood firm on their red lines. The terror group has called for a permanent ceasefire and a complete IDF withdrawal and Israel has insisted that it must continue its military campaign in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed.

CIA Chief William Burns held a meeting in Paris last month to create a framework for a deal, which was approved by Israel and then rejected by Hamas, which issued its counterproposal.

Israel rejected that offer, but has looked to remain in the talks, another leg of which is reportedly set for Cairo on Tuesday. Egypt and Qatar have acted as a mediator for the deal.

Since 253 Israelis were kidnapped in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 109 have been freed through negotiations. The IDF has rescued 11 bodies and three live hostages. It is estimated that out of the remaining captives, some 31 have died or have been killed in captivity.

Although it’s still believed that a hostage deal, even one that demands a high price from Israel, is still the best option to free the captives, Smotrich warned that this was not Israel’s best option.

Instead of sending the Mossad Chief [David Barnea] to Qatar, he should be sent to eliminate Hamas heads in all parts of the world,” Smotrich said.

“Tonight’s action proves once again what we have said many times, that the way to bring the hostages home is by vanquishing and destroying Hamas,” Smotrich said.

He also threw his support behind Netanyahu’s planned military operation against Hamas in Rafah near the Egyptian border, where additional hostages are believed to be held.

The United States has warned Israel against a large-scale military operation in Rafah without a plan that protects more than 1.3 million Palestinians in that city, many of whom fled there to escape bombing in the north.

“Our answer to Hamas and its delusional demands will be in Rafah using Air Force planes, tanks, infantry fighters, and paratroopers,” Smotrich said.

“The world must not cause us to hesitate or delay the mission, and we must complete the occupation of Rafah and complete victory with the destruction of Hamas as soon as possible,” he stressed.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid, a former prime minister, told his faction that a hostage deal was the only way to bring the captives home. There is only a short time frame for such a deal, he said.

“The Americans, the French, the Qataris, and the Egyptians also think that there isn’t a long window of opportunity for a hostage deal. No one can define exactly what “not long” is, whether it’s two or three weeks, but this is the time frame in which they still think a deal can be made.

“The Israeli government cannot ignore any opportunity, even the smallest one, to make a kidnapping deal.”

He urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change his divisive rhetoric, which mistakenly makes it seem that support for a hostage deal is opposed to vanquishing Hamas.

YAHYA SINWAR waves to Palestinians last April at a rally marking the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) in Gaza. (credit: IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA/REUTERS)

YAHYA SINWAR waves to Palestinians last April at a rally marking the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) in Gaza. (credit: IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA/REUTERS)

“The opposition, myself, every sane Israeli citizen is in favor of a victory over Hamas, and we are part of the war against Hamas. [The group’s leader] Yahya Sinwar should be killed and Hamas’s military capabilities should be destroyed,” Lapid said.

But the first step on the path to that victory must be a deal to return the captives, who have been abandoned by the government, Lapid stated.

The issue of Rafah should be dealt with as part of a day-after plan for Gaza, in coordination with Egypt and the US, he said.

“It must be a completely “different type of operation than what we saw in the north of Gaza,” Lapid said. Time is needed to prepare the plan and the hostages should be brought home now, he added.

Netanyahu reiterated his position on the importance of a Rafah operation and destroying Hamas during a meeting with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office he “emphasized that Israel would not leave intact the terrorist battalions in Rafah and added that the war is expected to continue until total victory over Hamas.”