Minister Strock: Gov't has no right to throw war in trash to save hostages

The Settlements and National Missions Minister, Orit Strock, criticized the Israeli government over what she claimed was a war being thrown into the garbage for the rescue of a mere few hostages in the framework of a hostage exchange agreement with Hamas, in an interview with Army Radio on Wednesday.

Strock said that the government was “throwing the [war effort] into the trash to save 22 or 33” of the 133 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.

Insisting that her party “very much” wanted to bring the hostages home, Strock stressed that a deal like the one currently reportedly on the table would leave the vast majority of the hostages still in Gaza alone and abandoned.

“The government went to war with a clear decision about the goals of the war,” she said, adding that “these goals, which were in writing, included the dismantling and destruction of all of Hamas’s abilities in Gaza – all of its military, governmental, and economic capabilities.”

This, she continued, would lead to “the creation of circumstances in which the hostages could be freed, and the removal of any threat from Gaza against Israel in the long term.”

According to Strock, the current negotiation regarding the hostages’ release “turns its back on all three of these goals, including the creation of circumstances to bring the hostages home.”

Strock expressed concerns that the deal would result in large numbers of Gazans returning to northern Gaza. Further, the agreement would prevent Israel from being able to restart the war effort after a ceasefire is in place.

She added that after a deal like the one being discussed, the only “price” a future deal could include would be the overall end of the war.

“You essentially are saying, ‘I’ll be satisfied with 20-33 hostages [being released].’ This is a reckless deal... we sent out soldiers into battle, some of whom did not come back, and some of whom came back wounded,” said the minister.

When asked if the Religious Zionist Party would leave the government if such a deal were signed, Strock responded with: “A government that sends out people to battle, that issues call-ups for hundreds of thousands of soldiers who left everything behind and went out to fight for those goals that the government defined, that tells them, ‘you know what? Drop it. We’re throwing it all in the trash in order to save 22 or 33 people or who knows how many.’”

“Such a government has absolutely no right to exist,” Strock punctuated.

Strock insisted that the party had softened its stance on lot of issues that were at the heart of its ideology as part of the war effort, pointing to the party’s support of the last hostage deal in November.

The minister added that she believed that the first deal was “not a mistake,” saying that she did not feel it harmed the war’s objective while the new deal did.

When asked if the party’s drop in election polls had anything to do with her position, Strock stressed, “I’m not interested in where I am in the polls; I’m interested in where the State of Israel is in the war against the cruel enemy.”

Strock sparks outrage

Strock’s comments sparked outrage on Wednesday, with several politicians and relatives of hostages responding to her remarks.

Minister-without-Portfolio Chili Tropper condemned Strock’s comments, saying, “You can support the outline for the release of the hostages, and you can oppose it, but the basic Jewish commandment of ‘anyone who preserves a single life in Israel is regarded as if he had preserved an entire world’ should spare us insensitive, blunt statements about the terrible suffering of the hostages and their families – like Minister Orit Strock’s words.

“The way of Judaism is much more humane and sensitive to human life than those who sometimes seek to speak on its behalf,” Tropper emphasized.

Shir Siegel, the daughter of Keith Siegel, who is being held hostage in Gaza, responded to Strock’s comments as well, telling 103FM radio, “It’s simply a disgrace, it’s contempt for human life at the highest levels.”

Concerning Strock’s Religious Zionist Party, Siegel said, “They don’t deserve to run the country – if they think eliminating another terrorist is more important than bringing my father back home alive, they should be ashamed.”

Correspondingly, MK Matan Kahana wrote on X that Strock’s comments were “disconnected in such a deep way from the suffering of the hostages and their family members.”

Yesh Atid responded to Strock’s remarks as well and said, “The government that is responsible for the greatest failure to the Jewish people since the Holocaust, with 1,300 dead and 133 Israelis who are still being held captive on its watch, has no right to exist! Quit and go home. You are a shame to the country, to Zionism, and to religion.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Education Minister Yoav Kisch rejected the complaints about the hostage negotiations made by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Minister-without-Portfolio Benny Gantz.

השר @YoavKisch מהליכוד אצל #ספי_ויניר על התנגדויות שרים בממשלה לעסקה: "מי שעושה סיבובים פוליטיים אלו הם, לא זזנו ממטרות המלחמה. אף אחד מהשרים שמקשקשים עכשיו לא רלוונטים לכל החלטה שהתקבלה ועוד תתקבל - אנחנו לא צריכים לא את בן גביר ולא את גנץ שיזכירו לנו דברים"@sefiova @yanircozin pic.twitter.com/hIY72Rb2xg

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) May 1, 2024

He told Army Radio, “They are the ones who make these political spins... we have not changed the war’s aims.

“None of the ministers who are nattering now are relevant to any decision that has been made and will be made. We do not need Ben-Gvir or Gantz to remind us of things,” Kisch stated.