'An immoral deal': Otzma Yehudit ministers alone in opposing hostage deal

The hostage deal the government approved on Tuesday night is immoral and plays into the hands of Hamas, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Wednesday after his Otzma Yehudit party voted against it.

The deal includes four days of ceasefire during which a total of 50 women and children will be released. Every extra day of ceasefire will lead to the return of another 10 hostages. However, if Hamas makes any moves against Israel during those days, Israel will be free to strike back and resume its military attack.

While the ministers from Otzma Yehudit voted against the deal, all the other ministers voted for it.

Ben-Gvir said that while it was a good thing that some of the women and children would be returning home, Israel had a moral duty to ensure the return of all the hostages.

"We don't have the right to agree to separating them and have only some of them return," he said. "And we definitely cannot accept an outline that sees the release of female and underage terrorists when we don't get everyone back."

He went on to say that Hamas wanted and benefited from the ceasefire that comes with the return of the hostages.

"Hamas also wants to 'be rid of' the women and children in the first stage because they caused international pressure, and the organization wants fuel, released terrorists, and a break in IDF activity in return," he added.

Ben-Gvir claimed that this was the time to keep placing military pressure on Hamas and get results, adding that Israel was making the same mistakes it had made in the past.

Some ministers needed a little more convincing 

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionist Party had also been intending on voting against the deal, but were eventually convinced and voted for it.

"The Religious Zionist Party's ministers were convinced that this is an achievement that matches and advances the aims of the war and won't harm them," said the party in a statement after the vote. "It's a deal with low prices which is a result of the pressure placed on Sinwar, a deal that will release many women and children, and a move that is limited in time and includes clear mechanisms that will prevent erosion. Immediately afterward, the war will continue until Hamas is destroyed."

Smotrich added that he hopes the deal will be successful and that many families will reunite soon.

RZP was reportedly convinced after the heads of the IDF, the Mossad, and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) assured the ministers that this deal would also have security benefits for the war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized at the beginning of the cabinet meeting that after the agreed upon ceasefire, Israel would continue the war in Gaza until all the hostages were home and Hamas was obliterated and no longer a threat.

"We won't let up until victory is ours and until all the hostages are home too," he said.

"The return of our people is a moral issue," said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. "It's the commitment between the state and the government and their citizens."

After the vote passed, Minister Benny Gantz congratulated Netanyahu "for the way he led the release deal, especially in the diplomatic aspect."

President Isaac Herzog supported the deal after it was approved by the government.

"The doubts are understandable, painful, and difficult, but in the existing circumstances, I back and support the prime minister's and government's decision to advance the hostage deal," he said.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid echoed the sentiment.

"The State of Israel has a top duty to continue to work to get every last hostage home," he said. "We embrace and support their families."

Meanwhile, Al-Magor, an organization that supports people who were affected by terrorist attacks, petitioned the High Court of Justice on Wednesday to block the deal, but the court dismissed the petition.