Transportation Minister Miri Regev said in a Wednesday interview that she will not support any permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and that Israel should not be “afraid” of beginning a military occupation of the Strip.

Speaking with the Ynet news site’s “120 and One” political podcast, Likud’s Regev told host Moran Azoulay that she supports the partial ceasefire and hostage release deal that is currently in negotiations, but not any deal that brings the now 21-month war against Hamas to an end.

“There will be no end to the war,” she said, arguing that “those who talk about ending the war are causing Hamas to harden its positions.”

When the host tells Regev that the hostages don’t have time to wait for more partial deals, she conceded that she is “willing to accept a 60-day ceasefire, but we won’t return to the reality of before October 7. Hamas will not remain there as an organization with operational and governmental capabilities.”

“The one preventing the deal is Hamas,” she said, adding that she is “optimistic” that a deal will soon be reached, thanks to the efforts of US President Donald Trump.

However,........

© The Times of Israel