The US is attacking far-right Israeli criticism of the deal

 

The US is attacking far-right Israeli criticism of the deal

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby pointed the finger at Smotrich and said he "should be ashamed" for questioning President Joe Biden's intentions. The White House denounced a far-right Israeli minister in extremely strong terms on Friday after he questioned a US-brokered ceasefire deal with Hamas. In a White House call with reporters, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby pointed the finger at Smotrich and said he was "ashamed" for questioning President Joe Biden's intentions. .

"The idea that he supports a deal that endangers Israel's security is just wrong, it's outrageous, it's absurd," Kirby said of Biden.

Kirby said Smotrich would "sacrifice" the Israeli and American hostages expected to be released under the deal in a position that "contradicts Israel's national security interests at this critical stage of the war." "He says this while President Biden is actually ordering the US military in the Middle East to directly defend Israel against a possible attack by Iran or other Iranian-backed terrorist groups," he said. Biden sent additional US forces after Israel was suspected of killing the political leader of Hamas in Iran, who vowed revenge.

On Thursday, Biden, in a joint phone call with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, asked Israel and Hamas to meet within a week to finish working on a ceasefire.

Smotrich denounced the proposal as creating an "illusory symmetry" between the Israeli hostages and the "murderous Jewish terrorist dumps" that would be released.

This is absolutely not the time to fall into a dangerous trap where the "mediators" will dictate a "formula" and impose a capitulation agreement on us, which would waste the blood we have shed in this more just war," he said. Although criticism of the United States, Israel's main ally, has been extremely strong, Smotrich has often caused outrage with his comments. Earlier this week, he said that it would be "justified and moral" to fail two million Gazans to free the hostages, but he complained that the world would not allow Israel to do it.

The war in Gaza began when Palestinian militants from Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, resulting in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli figures.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 39,699 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled territory's Health Ministry, which did not provide details on civilian and militant deaths.