Bezalel Smotrich Archives - CrossFireArarbia

Netanyahu ‘Incapable of Governing’ as Far-Right Controls Him Says ex-PM

CrossFireArabia
July 1, 2026

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “incapable of governing his own government” because far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, and ultra-Orthodox groups have taken control of him.

“He is incapable of governing his own government, because Ben-Gvir and Smotrich and Haredim, they all control him,” Bennett said in an interview with broadcaster Mario Nawfal.

“I would not entertain in my government any idiots that talk about– just really stupid statements that people like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich say. I would not have allowed Ben-Gvir into my government to begin with. But if someone in my government said something like that, I would call them to order. Netanyahu can no longer do that because he depends upon them,” he said.

Bennett acknowledged that Israel’s international standing has deteriorated badly, stemming not from biased media or external propaganda, but from the government’s conduct — ministers inflicting “ongoing self-inflicted wounds” on Israel’s image while the country conducted “zero public diplomacy.”

The former prime minister argued that prolonged Israeli wars in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and the Iran front were contrary to Israel’s military doctrine and were draining the country. “It’s not Israel’s doctrine,” he said.

“If we have to pursue war, do it quickly, intensively, win and move on to stabilize the region. When you drag it on for such a long time, it exhausts our economy, exhausts our reservists,” he added. Anadolu

Opinion

Battle of Wills: Resistance V. Israeli Settlements

CrossFireArabia
June 10, 2026

By Najla M. Shahwan|

As a part of its broader policy push to increase Israeli settlement presence in the occupied West Bank, Israel has approved recently the construction of more than 2,000 new housing units distributed across several strategic locations.

Pushing to annex more and more of the Palestinian territory Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has announced a major expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Smotrich, who holds authority over parts of Israel’s civilian administration in the West Bank, said on 3 June that a planning committee had approved the construction of 2,162 new Jewish homes, of which 1,006 units will be in a new illegal settlement near Jerusalem, 922 near the city of Nablus and 234 near Hebron.

“We are continuing to build the Land of Israel in practice,” Smotrich said in a statement.

The new homes would “strengthen our hold on the land, reinforce Israel’s security, and establish clear facts on the ground that prevent the creation of an Arab terror state in the heart of the country”, he added.

Smotrich has been sanctioned by the United Kingdom, France, and other states, which accuse him of inciting violence against Palestinians.

The minister has denounced the sanctions and said they would not change Israeli policy.

Besides, on June 4, Israeli forces had delivered demolition notices to a number of shops at the intersection of the town of Bazariya, northwest of Nablus, to make way for a colonial road.

Meanwhile, some settlers stormed the village of Deir Sudan, northwest of Ramallah, accompanied by bulldozers, to seize it.

The developments come months after the Israeli government approved a land registration process in February that allowed Israel to take territory as “state property” if Palestinians could not prove ownership.

Palestinians seek the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza, as part of a future independent state.

Israel, meanwhile, maintains military and administrative control over large parts of the territory, while expanding illegal settlements in several areas.

The settlement expansion comes amid ongoing debate within Israel’s political leadership over the future of the occupied territories.

The Israeli Knesset gave on June 4 final approval to legislation granting tax exemptions to dozens of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

In a statement, the Knesset said lawmakers approved the bill on its final reading, granting tax benefits to illegal settlements located in what it called the “eastern confrontation line zone.”

The legislation was sponsored by Knesset members Zvi Sukkot, from the Religious Zionism party led by Finance Minister

Bezalel Smotrich, and Limor Son Har-Melech, from the far-right Jewish Power party led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, along with other lawmakers.

The bill passed by 32-23 votes. Under the law, occupants will be entitled to tax exemptions throughout the tax year and may choose among available tax benefits if they qualify for more than one exemption.

The legislation is set to take effect in January 2027 and remain in force through Dec. 31, 2027. It also authorizes the finance minister, with approval from the Knesset Finance Committee, to extend its validity for additional periods of up to two years each.

In a report published at the end of May, the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said the law would classify dozens of illegal settlements as areas whose residents are eligible for substantial tax benefits.

The group noted that the original bill sought to extend tax benefits to all settlements but was narrowed due to its high cost and professional objections, ultimately applying to 58 illegal settlements.

According to Peace Now, the updated version primarily includes illegal settlements where support for the Religious Zionism party is particularly strong.

The international community considers settlements built in the occupied Palestinian territory illegal under international law and a major obstacle to a two-state solution.

Netanyahu’s government has openly championed a significant expansion of illegal settlement activity since taking office at the end of 2022. According to Peace Now estimates, more than 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem.

While some international actors have warned against further annexation or expansion, enforcement measures remain limited.

The United States has historically expressed opposition to settlement expansion, although its positions have varied in intensity depending on administration policy.

On its part US President Donald Trump ‘s administration has been far less critical of the fast-expanding Israeli settlements.

The approval of thousands of new settlement homes further entrenches Israeli presence in the West Bank and complicates already fragile prospects for a negotiated political settlement.

Additionally, settlement expansion changes demographic and geographic realities on the ground, making territorial compromise increasingly difficult and it reinforces perceptions that a viable independent state is becoming harder to achieve.

For Israel, supporters of settlement growth argue it strengthens security and consolidates control over strategically important areas while critics, , say it increases friction with Palestinian communities and fuels long term instability.

However, with diplomatic efforts largely stalled, continued expansion is likely to remain a central flashpoint in the conflict and a key issue in deepening regional tensions.

Najla M. Shahwan is a Palestinian author, researcher and freelance journalist and published this article in the Jordan Times

News

Punishing The Olive Tree

CrossFireArabia
May 25, 2026

By Dr Marwan Asmar

Israel’s government, soldiers and settlers destroyed between 13,000 and 14000 olive trees in the occupied West Bank in the first five months of 2026. The figures are based on different Palestinian and Israeli sources.

In May 2026 alone Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he had ordered the uprooting and destruction of 3000 trees in northern Palestine. The uprooting of these trees were ordered to be felled in a single day.

In early February, 2006 human rights’ groups reported that over 8000 trees were destroyed and a report by the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Commission (PWSC) released last Mid-May showed that 4,414 had been uprooted, destroyed and/or poisoned.

The uprooting of “Palestinian trees” by Israeli settlers backed by the Zionist army has become a normal state of affairs as it has increased viciously since October 2023 when over 37,200 olive trees were “uprooted”, “broken” and “burned” in conjunction with the Israeli war and slaughter of Gaza.

The situation spelled disaster for Palestinian farmers. In cahoots with Israeli soldiers, settlers would go down on Palestinian villages and towns and start uprooting olive trees out of sheer vandalism.

At the end of last April, this is exactly what happened when settlers from the “Adi Ad” settlement descended on the Turmus Aya village that lies to the north-east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and started to destroy and vandalize 400 olive trees.

As they did this, on Saturday night, they were guarded by the Israeli army. This attack came days after the settlers descended on the village and set fire to a house and a car there.

The attack on Turmus Aya is not an isolated incident. The village has been targeted for the past few years. The PWSC, a monitoring organization of such attacks said the Israeli army had been responsible for 1,322 of such attacks while the settlers involved for 497 acts of vandalism on different Palestinian cities with Hebron topping the list at (321), Nablus (315), Ramallah (292) and Jerusalem (203).

Statistics point out that Israel has destroyed between 800,000 and 1 million olive trees in the occupied Palestinian territories from 1967 till now. However, since that year, when Israel effectively occupied all of the Palestinian territories, it destroyed 2.5 million trees.

Besides olives, they included orange (different varieties), lemon, grapefruit and clementine trees. The Palestinian territories are known for their varieties like almond, figs, apricots, peaches and plums trees.

These trees were destroyed by the Israeli occupation for basic military takeover to expand the Palestinian lands with Israeli settlements – about 147 settlements and 224 outposts – and create the required infrastructure and roads for these since some of them resemble big cities.

In the case of the Smotrich announcement for example, and the uprooting of 3000 trees on Palestinian lands in the north West Bank, the purpose there was to expand the Israeli Shaked Industrial Park which is next to the settlement there that has the same name.

Gaza, another story

Gaza is another sad story for the Israeli genocide has affected the whole of the agricultural sector. During the last war on the Gaza Strip, Israel destroyed 1 million trees according to Fayyad Fayyad, head of the Palestinian Olive Council. The destruction literally decimated the agriculture sector of the enclave.

Prior to 7 October, 2023, Gaza had 1.1 million trees roughly producing 50,000 tons of olives every year but no more. About 98 percent of Gaza’s tree cropland has been destroyed.

Dr Mazen Qumsiyeh, a biologist at Bethlehem University, calls the destruction in Gaza an “ecocide” as statistics show that over the past two years and more, Israel has destroyed between 500,000 to 700,000 non-olive trees.

Today in Gaza everything has been razed to the ground. There had once been 35 olive oil presses in the Strip but most of these have been destroyed with only five left as of the end of last year.

The loss of a million olive trees is a $50-million-plus-loss since the total olive oil sector (West Bank and Gaza) contributed between $160 and $190 million to the Palestinian national economy as a direct result of exports to regional and international markets.

The olive oil sector accounts for roughly five percent of the Palestinian GDP and 20 percent of the agricultural sector. Further olive oil production sustains 100,000 families in the Palestinian territories.

Marwan Asmar is a writer from Amman and blogs for crossfirearabia.com

Opinion

‘Creeping Colonization’ – An Israeli Blueprint

CrossFireArabia
February 3, 2026

By Najla M. Shahwan

The Israeli government has initiated a significant expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem , and while 2025 was a year of settlement expansion, 2026 is intended to be a year of “action on the ground” focusing on accelerating construction, retroactively legalizing outposts, and deepening control in strategically sensitive areas.

New construction projects, such as bypass roads and barriers, are actively slicing through the West Bank, creating disconnected “islands” of Palestinian areas and facilitating the expansion of settlements.

This strategy, heavily driven by Israeli far-right coalition members, aims to establish, legalize, and expand numerous settlements and outposts, effectively creating “de facto annexation”.

On his part, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced a plan to allocate 2.7 billion shekels in the 2026 state budget to establish 17 new colonies in the West Bank over the next five years.

Plans for 22 new settlements in the West Bank were approved in early 2026, building upon a record number of approvals in 2025, which totaled 41 new settlements.

Israel has moved to start construction on the contentious E1 project, with a tender for 3,401 homes posted in late 2025/ early 2026.

This project aims to connect Maale Adumim settlement with East Jerusalem, which analysts warn will divide the West Bank in two and block the contiguity of a future Palestinian state.

Plans are also advancing for a major new 9,000-unit settlement project in East Jerusalem, at the site of the former Atarot/ Qalandiya airport.

Besides, a new settlement named Mishmar Yehuda (or Givat Adumim) was recently approved, located near Kedar and Ma’ale Adumim.

Reports from May 2025 and January 2026 indicate a surge in the legalization of previously unauthorized settler outposts, transforming them into permanent, legal settlements under Israeli law.

Following the repeal of the 2005 Disengagement Law, plans are underway to rebuild and expand settlements in the northern West Bank, such as Homesh and Sa-Nur.

Settlement activity is heavily concentrated in the East Jerusalem area, the northern West Bank, and the Jordan Valley to sever Palestinian territorial continuity.

Settlement expansion has been accompanied by increased settler violence and attacks, with over 1,800 incidents documented in 2025, according to the UN.

Settlers have been involved in the killings of Palestinians, including children, and have caused thousands of injuries through physical assaults, shootings, and arson.

In the first weeks of 2026, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded at least 55 settler attacks causing injury or property damage and injuring 30 Palestinians. These attacks, often targeted water systems and schools, have directly led to the displacement of over 100 Palestinian Bedouin and herding households.

In the Jericho area community of Ras ‘Ein al ‘Auja, at least 77 households began dismantling their homes following intensified nighttime settler attacks and threats.

Settler attacks have completely displaced 29 Palestinian communities since October 2023, more than one a month on average, UN data showed.

Attacks frequently target Palestinian property, including the burning of homes, destruction of vehicles , poisoning water sources , steeling livestock , devastating agricultural livelihoods and uprooting or chain sawing of olive trees.

Settler violence is a key driver of forced displacement, creating a coercive environment that has forced dozens of Palestinian communities to leave their homes.

Since October 7, 2023, thousands of Palestinians have been displaced due to settler attacks.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and various UN bodies have reported that the distinction between settler violence and state violence has become increasingly blurred, with settlers wearing uniforms and acting alongside or as part of the Israeli security forces.

The line between settler and state violence has blurred “to a vanishing point,” according to a 2025 UN report.

This is attributed to the involvement of settlers in official “settlement defense squads” and “regional defense battalions,” which are part of the Israeli army’s structure.

The UN has noted a high level of impunity for perpetrators, with very few investigations into settler attacks resulting in convictions.

The European Union, various international bodies, various nations, including the UK, Canada, and Germany, have urged Israel to halt these activities, citing that the settlements are obstacles to peace , illegal under international law and undermine the possibility of a two-state solution.

The UN human rights office has repeatedly called on Israeli authorities to protect Palestinians from these attacks, end the cycle of violence, and hold perpetrators accountable.

However as of January 2026, reports indicate that Israel is disregarding all condemnations and warnings and accelerating its actions in the occupied West Bank, shifting from a “slow creep” of control to a rapid expansion of settlements and infrastructure, which observers characterize as de facto annexation.

This, combined with increased settler violence and military actions, is profoundly altering the landscape of the West Bank.

This ongoing process, which was often referred to as “creeping annexation’’, and now some analysts call it “running annexation’’ aims to permanently incorporate the West Bank into Israel by creating irreversible, on-the-ground facts.

Najla M Shahwan contributed this article to the Jordan Times

News

Smotrich Retracts Saudi Offensive Comments

CrossFireArabia
October 24, 2025

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich retracted insulting comments he made on Thursday against Saudi Arabia.

“My statement about Saudi Arabia was definitely unsuccessful, and I regret the offense it caused,” the extremist minister said on his account on US social media company X.

“Nevertheless, and simultaneously, I expect the Saudis not to harm us and not to deny the heritage, tradition and rights of the Jewish people to the historical regions of their homeland in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and to establish true peace with us.”

Smotrich issued insulting comments against the kingdom early Thursday, rejecting any normalization with ties with Riyadh in return for a Palestinian state.

“If Saudi Arabia tells us ‘normalization in exchange for a Palestinian state,’ friends — no thank you,” Smotrich said at a conference organized by the Zomet Institute and the Makor Rishon newspaper.

“Keep riding camels in the desert in Saudi Arabia, and we will continue to develop with the economy, society and state and the great things that we know how to do,” added the extremist minister.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia on Smotrich’s comments.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly conditioned reaching a deal to normalize ties with Israel on Tel Aviv’s acceptance of a Palestinian state and the launch of a serious political process leading to that state.

Ignorance

Smotrich’s comments against Saudi Arabia drew fire from Israeli opposition leaders.

“To our friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, Smotrich does not represent the State of Israel,” Yair Lapid, leader of Yesh Atid Party, wrote on US social media company X, calling on the finance minister to apologize.

Benny Gantz, leader of the opposition Blue and White Party, said on X that Smotrich’s comments against Saudi Arabia “reflect ignorance and a lack of awareness of his responsibility as a senior minister in the government and the cabinet.”

Smotrich, known for his extremist views, has long advocated expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the annexation of the occupied territory according to Anadolu.