Israeli Finance Minister Criticizes White House: Respect Israeli Democracy

Israel's far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, stated that the United States should "respect Israeli democracy" regarding issues related to Israel's security. These remarks came after John Kirby, the White House National Security spokesperson, announced that the U.S. would not allow "extremists" to derail negotiations concerning a ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages. Smotrich said, "I respect the U.S. position and thank them for their support of Israel against regional threats, but I expect the U.S. to respect Israeli democracy and the positions of its citizens and elected officials regarding decisions that affect the country's security." He likened calls for Israel to accept a hostage release agreement and ceasefire to a hypothetical situation where the U.S. would be asked to reach a surrender agreement with Al-Qaeda and [Osama] bin Laden after the September 11 attacks. The White House accused Smotrich of endangering the lives of Israeli and American hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. John Kirby stated, "Smotrich is effectively suggesting that the war should continue unabated and that the lives of hostages are not important. His arguments are completely wrong and mislead Israeli public opinion." These comments come as the U.S. President, along with the Emir of Qatar, Al Thani, and the President of Egypt, issued a joint statement on Thursday urging Israel and Hamas to participate in final negotiations next week to finalize a hostage agreement and ceasefire. During Hamas's terrorist attack on October 7, 1,200 citizens, mostly civilians, were killed, and over 250 others, including women, children, and the elderly, were taken hostage. Israel, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada consider Hamas a terrorist organization.