If phase two of the Gaza hostage release deal proceeds, the war will end, and the Religious Zionism party will leave the government, Deputy Speaker of the Knesset MK Moshe Solomon said in an interview with Radio North on Monday.
"So it won't proceed," he said.
"We understand that the government recognizes the magnitude of this moment, the extraordinary opportunity for a national right-wing government in light of the unprecedented opportunity we have with the US,” he added.
“I expect [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] and cabinet to fulfil their commitment where we complete phase 1 of the deal and act with military force against the Hamas terror organization. I believe this is how we can bring back the hostages who are there. Currently, phase 1 has ended with everything that was promised, despite Hamas's violations."
Religious Zionism will not remain in the government if the war doesn't resume 42 days after phase two, he concluded.
Resettling northern Israel and the Hezbollah ceasefire
Regarding the northern agreement, he added that the government must achieve the previously established war objectives on all borders.
“We'll pursue all means, including both fighting and various agreements, like the northern agreement, which we periodically see being violated, and Hezbollah's repeated attempts to return to the borders," he said.
"Therefore, when there are such violations and the new administration there doesn't change the reality, we will definitely return to fighting there and eliminate any capability to harm Israel's citizens' security, particularly northern residents, and the same goes for the south because Hamas is in critical condition and we must take advantage of the US administration change to complete the mission and we must not stop mid-fight."
Solomon addressed the issue of northern residents returning home, saying that as long as there was a threat along the border, no one could demand the residents’ return.
“Maybe we won't reach the Litani River, but there will be between five to ten kilometers of military control, [and] then we can provide security for northern residents," he added.
"We're constantly focused on what we haven't achieved, but let's look at what we have achieved - Hezbollah is nothing like what it was a year and a half ago, not in its leadership, not in its military capabilities and service as an Iranian proxy - nothing is the same," he emphasized.
"So we should say that at this point in time, it's much better than it was a year and a half ago, and there's still a lot of work to do to fight and conquer the north."