Opposition MK Chili Tropper expressed his disappointment with the government's conduct and criticized its priorities in managing the war in an interview with 103FM on Sunday.
In his opinion, the return of the hostages should be the top priority, but he said sadly this is not the case: "Everyone wants them home. It's just not at the top of the government's priorities."
According to Tropper, there is no choice but to stop the fighting, at least temporarily. "The high price must be paid. The deal defined a 'permanent ceasefire,' adding that "the price will be to stop the weapons for a period [of time].
"Unlike [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, I don't know how to talk in percentages about how many we have returned - it makes me shudder," Tropper claimed, adding: "There are people who were kidnapped while the government was in office, and there is a responsibility to return them even at heavy prices."
Tropper said that this is a simple principle and that "after 541 days, the Israeli government has a responsibility to exhaust every chance for bringing the hostages home, both the living and the dead, for burial."
The government has the wrong priorities
Perhaps Tropper doesn't think that the government wants the hostages home?
Tropper explained that he doesn't know how to interpret their feelings but that it is not high on the government's priority list.
"This goal of destroying the Hamas regime is going to accompany us for years anyway. These people don't have those months, they don't have those weeks, and they may not have those days.
"With each passing day, there will be no one to bring home," he stated. "When I hear from Alon Ohel's parents that he is on the verge of blindness, I tell the Israeli government, 'Don't wait for him to be completely blind.'"
Tropper further emphasized when addressing members of the government: "First of all, bring your sons and daughters home, and then focus on the fighting."
MK Amit Halevi (Likud) was also interviewed, in which he stated that the goal should be to occupy Gaza and establish ourselves in the Strip.
Tropper deeply disagreed with him: "Even if I were to follow his method, the order of operations is the opposite: First, you bring your sons and daughters home."
Another government member also disagreed with Halevi: "I disagree with him about what the correct fighting configuration is, whether the goal is to occupy the territory and establish a military government and settlements there. Here, I disagree. That is not the goal of the war, and it does not unite all Israelis."
The state camp official added that he would ask Halevi: "Who are those warriors who will make all your dreams come true? Your government promotes mass desertion. There is something wrong with a government that sends people into battle and dismisses thousands from service. There is something morally wrong with a government that makes such decisions and sends others into battle."
Tropper will not give up
Tropper later called out the opposition's failure to stop the legislation and the budget. He promised that he had no intention of giving up: "The struggle is longer than I would like, but it is no less urgent. The evasion law has not passed until now because the government understands that it is on the offside against the majority of the public it serves.
"We must do our part in the struggle, both in parliament, on the streets, and in the legal arena, every struggle so that the Israeli government maintains its democratic identity.
"I do not know the possibility of giving up, only to fight. I promise the citizens of Israel to continue to fight in every possible legal way to protest the injustice and establish another government, and that is what I will continue to do."
Regarding his party's state in the polls, Tropper responded: "There was a decline that stopped, but even when we were high in the polls, I didn't go out dancing, and even now, I'm not getting depressed. We have a path, and we need to stick to it, so we will continue to fight our way."
Regarding the meeting between his party leader, MK Benny Gantz, and Justice Minister Yariv Levin, he said: "The great effort was difficult that day. The Israeli government, in the midst of a war, decided to pass a controversial law."
He continued: "In a war, you need internal cohesion, and the government is thwarting cohesion. That day, before the law passed, we did everything possible: demonstrations and a filibuster. Gantz sent a letter warning Netanyahu, and he also tried to talk to Yariv Levin about withdrawing the law on the last day. When something bad happens, you do everything in your power to prevent it."