White House slams Israeli ‘extremists’ for resisting hostage deal

The White House has condemned Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich for arguing against a ceasefire and hostage release deal brokered with the Biden administration, calling his recent public statements unhelpful and dangerous.

National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby on Friday said the US welcomes Israel’s announcement that it will participate in talks with Hamas representatives set to begin next week, either in Doha or Cairo, and said President Joe Biden has spoken with Israeli and Qatari leaders about “a way forward” to “close remaining gaps and to see if we can get this hostage deal concluded.”

But Kirby also noted that there have been statements from “some quarters in Israel over recent days” attacking the proposed ceasefire agreement, which would provide for a return of Israeli and American hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Approximately 116 hostages are thought to still be held by the militant group 10 months after the October 7 terror attacks, including 79 civilians. There have not been any hostages released since November 2023, though Israel has managed to free a small number through military action in recent months.

He called out the criticisms of the agreement as “wrong ... not only in substance but also in jeopardizing the lives of the hostages” and said the attacks on the proposal are “counter to Israel’s own national security interests.”

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Turning to specific attacks leveled by Smotrich, who has called the proposal a “surrender” to Hamas and argued against exchanging hostages for prisoners — a practice for which there are significant precedents — Kirby said the right-wing cabinet minister “essentially suggests the war ought to go on indefinitely “ and implies that the hostages are “of no real concern at all” to him.

Such arguments, he said, are “dead wrong” and “misleading” to the Israeli public, because the deal was “negotiated over months” and “fully protects Israel's national security interests.”

“Smotrich suggests that prisoners should never be traded for hostages, and that doing so at this stage is somehow a surrender. Let me remind you, most of Hamas' top leaders are now dead, Hamas’ organized military structure and capacity has been destroyed. Israel has now completed nearly all of its major military objectives other than the explicit war aim of bringing the hostages home,” he said.

“Yes, sometimes prisoners are traded for hostages ... it does not mean that they are equivalent ... but sometimes countries that value the lives of their citizens, as we do in the United States and as Israel does, take these kinds of trades to save lives, innocent lives — there’s no surrender in that,” Kirby added.

Continuing, Kirby slammed Smotrich’s views as advocacy for sacrificing the lives of the hostages and as counter to Israeli interests “at this critical stage of the war.”

He also said President Biden would “continue to do what’s right” by “having Israel’s back against Iran and its’ proxy groups.”

Biden, he added, “won't allow extremists to blow things off course, including extremists in Israel, taking these ridiculous charges against the deal. It's the right deal at the right time. It will save lives, and you know what, it's going to also advance Israel's security.”