Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett slammed the U.S. and other governments’ proposals that Israel should take a three-day pause in fighting Hamas, so they can get humanitarian aid into Gaza as well as negotiate getting hostages back from the terror group.
During an MSNBC interview with anchor Andrea Mitchell, Bennett – who also served as Chief of Staff for current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – criticized the proposal as a "very bad idea."
He insisted that will only serve to give Hamas time to regroup from Israel’s retaliatory strikes following the terror group’s Oct. 7 massacre inside the country.
Mitchell brought up the three-day pause, a strategy that the Biden administration has asked Netanyahu to consider in recent days as a negotiating tactic to get back hostages from Hamas.
Netanyahu has continued to reject the idea, saying there will be "no cease-fire, no fuel to Gaza until hostages are released."
Mitchell asked Bennett, "What do you think about this three-day pause? Because the prime minister has not indicated that, but we understand that there are talks under way with Qatar, with Israel, with the U.S., for a three-day pause hopefully to try to get some hostages out. Is that on the table?"
Bennett rejected the idea, stating, "I think instead of applying pressure on Israel to cease fire, there should be only one pressure point, and it’s to pressure Hamas into disarming Gaza and releasing hostages."
The host pushed back: "But as an interim step, what about a three-day pause?"
Bennett declared, "It’s a very bad idea," prompting Mitchell to ask, "Why is it a bad idea?" Cutting him off as he tried to respond, she added, "Might help you to get hostages out."
The former prime minister responded saying that Hamas is going to "play around with us, and maneuver us, and give us a few hostages, but then it will prolong the whole suffering of everyone."
Mitchell pressed on, asking, "Do you think Netanyahu would agree to it?" Bennett said, "I don’t know. You’d have to ask him. I’m representing my position."
He then reiterated that position: "We’re in war. We have to defeat Hamas. The longer this goes on, the more suffering there will be for everyone."
He added, "So, imagine it’s the Nazi regime, January 1945. We gotta win the war. If we keep on pausing and allowing them to replenish, refresh themselves – each time we give them a day, it’s another two weeks to the war."
For more Culture, Media, Education, Opinion and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media.
