‘I have lost faith in Netanyahu’ – Following Cabinet's decision to takeover Gaza, Finance Minister Smotrich threatens to leave government

Finance Minister and Religious Zionism chairman Bezalel Smotrich voted against the proposal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to have the IDF take control of the entire Gaza Stip, and later criticized Netanyahu, saying he has “lost faith” that the prime minister “can and wants to lead the IDF” to do so. 

Smotrich strongly attacked Netanyahu’s proposal in a video statement uploaded to 𝕏, saying it misleads both the Israeli public and the reservists, because it its goal is not a complete and final victory over Hamas, rather it is only intended to increase pressure on Hamas to reach a hostage-ceasefire deal. 

לצערי בישיבת הקבינט האחרונה איבדתי את האמון שראש הממשלה יכול ורוצה להוביל את צה"ל להכרעה וניצחון. pic.twitter.com/tyvHKThf5o

— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) August 9, 2025

"I have lost faith that the prime minister can and wants to lead the IDF there,” Smotrich said following the Cabinet decision. 

Despite the prime minister ordering the IDF to seize control of the entire Gaza Strip, Smotrich said he does not believe Netanyahu intends to completely take control of Gaza. 

“That’s not how you subdue, that's not how to return hostages, that's not how a war is won,” Smotrich said. “To send tens of thousands of fighters to maneuver in the city of Gaza while risking their lives, paying heavy political and international prices, just to put pressure on Hamas to release hostages, and then withdraw back – it is immoral and illogical folly.” 

“Unfortunately, for the first time since the beginning of the war, I feel I just can't stand behind this decision and back it up. My conscience does not allow this,” he continued. 

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir also opposed Netanyahu’s plan, presenting his own proposal to the Security Cabinet, according to reports in Hebrew media. Zamir warned that the proposed plan would endanger the hostages while increasing the strain on the IDF.

On Thursday night, the Cabinet voted to adopt Netanyahu’s proposal. Maariv quoted the prime minister telling Zamir after the vote: “The plan you presented will not help the return of the hostages. The plan we have now approved will more effectively achieve the goals of the war.” 

Zamir had reportedly noted that the evacuation of around one million Palestinians near Gaza City, in the central part of the enclave, is a complex process that could not be completed in the proposal's timeframe. 

Smotrich also blasted Netanyahu for appearing to support a plan that would guarantee victory over Hamas, only to make “a U-turn.” 

“In recent weeks, I have worked intensively with the prime minister on a dramatic move to win in Gaza," Smotrich said. "A combination of a quick military decision and an immediate political move that will exact a painful price from Hamas, destroy its military and civilian capabilities, exert unprecedented pressure on it to release the hostages and raise the spirit of the people of Israel. For weeks, it seemed that the prime minister supported the plan, he discussed its details with me and broadcast that he was going to a decision and that this time he intended to go all the way, but unfortunately he made a U-turn.” 

Smotrich said that Netanyahu and the cabinet “gave in to weakness.” 

“The prime minister and the Cabinet gave in to weaknesses, let emotion prevail over their senses, and decided to do more of the same again, and to embark on a military move whose purpose is not decisiveness, but only to exert pressure on Hamas in order to bring it to a partial hostage deal,” he stated. 

On Sunday morning, Smotrich allegedly expressed a willingness to go to elections. 

“As far as I’m concerned, it is possible to stop everything and let the people decide,” Smotrich was quoted as saying by public broadcaster Kan News. 

Smotrich’s opinion appeared to be shared by others in his party. Religious Zionism party Knesset Member Zvi Sukkot said this morning on Army Radio: “In the current state of affairs, I think we should go to elections.” 

Members of the Jewish Power party also expressed a willingness to go to elections. Knesset Member Yitzhak Kreuzer told 103FM Radio that the party will consider going to elections if the proposal does not lead to “the complete defeat of the terror organizations in the Gaza Strip.” 

“There may come a point where we will have to return the mandate to the citizens of the State of Israel, when this government is certainly acting against the opinion of its own voters,” Kreuzer said. “When the prime minister leads the Knesset to provide aid and again maneuvers to reach a partial deal, we are certainly very opposed to that.” 

In his remarks, Smotrich urged Netanyahu to change his mind. 

“It's not too late to reconsider,” Smotrich said, addressing Netanyahu. “Convene the cabinet again, and announce in no uncertain terms that there will be no more halfway measures. That there will be no more partial deals. That this time, we are moving towards a clear and decisive course of action leading to victory, culminating in the complete surrender of Hamas and the return of all hostages in a single operation, or its complete defeat and destruction. Annexation of large parts of the Gaza Strip and opening its gates to voluntary migration.”