Bezalel Smotrich Archives - Page 3 of 7

Smotrich: Israel Set to Occupy Gaza

CrossFireArabia
February 25, 2025

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Monday that his country’s military is preparing to occupy the Gaza Strip under the leadership of the newly appointed Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, in coordination with US President Donald Trump’s administration.

Smotrich made the remarks during a speech at the outset of a parliamentary bloc meeting of the Religious Zionist Party in Israel’s Knesset, according to Israeli media sources including the Israeli Broadcasting Authority (KAN), the Maariv daily and Channel 7.

Speaking about northern Israel’s security situation, he said the Lebanese group “Hezbollah is now at its lowest level in decades. It is isolated within the Lebanese government, distant from power centers, cut off from its overland supply route in Syria, deprived of its leadership, and we have eliminated most of its capabilities.”

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He claimed that “the Israeli army holds sovereignty in Lebanon, attacking anything that moves freely, and remains stationed at five military points along the border to protect northern towns, with no intention of stopping.”

Last Tuesday, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Israeli military withdrew from the villages and towns it occupied in southern Lebanon except for five key points along the border.

Regarding the Gaza Strip, Smotrich warned the Palestinian group Hamas, noting that its fighters “know very well that their time on the ground is limited until Israel returns to battle with all its strength, speed and lethal capacity that will defeat and destroy them.”

“When we decide that the time has come to resume the war, you will be surprised by the unity, strength and lethal precision of our Gaza occupation,” he added.

Smotrich vowed to Hamas a “painful revenge that will leave no remnants or refugees.”

He noted that the Israeli military is preparing under the leadership of Chief of Staff Zamir, who will assume his duties in the first week of March, with political backing from the Trump administration, which “is finally speaking clearly about eradicating Hamas from the face of the earth,” according to Anadolu.

Regarding the West Bank, Smotrich threatened to transform areas there into a situation similar to Jabalia in northern Gaza, where Israel committed extermination and ethnic cleansing.

He boasted of forcibly removing tens of thousands of Palestinian residents from refugee camps in the West Bank to enable his army to destroy those sites.

He said the Israeli military is operating tanks and armored vehicles in the occupied West Bank to eliminate those he claims are “terrorists.”

On Sunday, the Israeli military said it had transferred a battalion of tanks to Jenin in the northern West Bank for the first time in more than two decades.

The same day, the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that “for the first time since Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, Israeli tanks have moved into the Jenin area as part of preparations to expand the operation in the northern West Bank.”

A Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap deal took effect last month, halting Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed nearly 48,350 people, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

News

Smotrich Vows to Demolish Highest Number of Palestinian Homes

CrossFireArabia
February 17, 2025

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has vowed that the occupation state will demolish more Palestinian homes than are built in the West Bank by 2025. If that is fulfilled, it will mark the first time since 1967 that Israel’s demolitions will outpace construction.

Smotrich made the announcement during a speech at a meeting of the Israeli Civil Administration’s Law Enforcement Unit on Sunday. He emphasized that the government would intensify demolition operations, aiming to increase efforts significantly by 2025.

“2025 will be the first year since 1967 in which we will destroy more than what Palestinians build,” Smotrich declared. He highlighted that controlling land is at the core of the Israeli colonial project.

Smotrich confirmed that the Israeli government will continue to block Palestinian construction in areas occupied by Israel. He pointed to the 2025 budget, which includes substantial increases for demolition operations. This will involve more manpower, new equipment, and advanced technology to monitor Palestinian construction according to the Quds News Network.

Since the start of the genocide in Gaza, Israel has escalated settlement activity in the West Bank. This is part of a broader strategy to annex more Palestinian land, despite international opposition.

Israel’s settlement expansion continues amid official statements and consensus among Knesset members rejecting the creation of a Palestinian state, defying international law. The United Nations has repeatedly called for a halt to these illegal settlements.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has intensified attacks in the West Bank and the eastern part of occupied Jerusalem, resulting in over 900 Palestinian deaths, thousands of injuries, and the displacement of hundreds. Israel’s demolition campaign has destroyed more than 1,300 Palestinian structures in Area C, displacing over 1,100 people, according to UN reports.

By the end of 2024, around 770,000 Israeli settlers lived in the West Bank, spread across 180 settlements and 256 outposts. These settlements are considered illegal under international law.

News

Ben-Gvir Blasts Netanyahu For…

CrossFireArabia
February 16, 2025

Former Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, calling a Gaza ceasefire deal a “historic mistake.”

Speaking to the local radio 103FM, the far-right politician said that Netanyahu’s actions were undermining Israel’s military achievements in the war on Gaza.

The continuation of this deal is “a historic mistake that will set us back,” said Ben-Gvir, who leads the far-right Otzma Yehudit Party.

“The deal prevents Israel from achieving a total victory, and every passing day proves that my opposition to the agreement was justified,” he claimed.

Ben-Gvir, who resigned from Netanyahu’s government last month in opposition to the ceasefire deal, claimed that Hamas fighters had regained power and control in Gaza.

“The amount of aid we give them…it enables them to rule,” he said. “Hamas regained control (in the Gaza Strip) because of this reckless deal.”

The extremist minister also took aim at far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, dismissing his claim that Israel had dismantled Hamas.

“I heard him say that we have taken Hamas apart, but unfortunately, the reality on the ground says otherwise,” Ben-Gvir said.

A ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, halting Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed more than 48,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave according to Anadolu.

News

Lapid: ‘Smotrich Want to Drown us in a Swamp of Blood’

CrossFireArabia
February 12, 2025

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, attacks Bezalel Smotrich: “He does not want to return the prisoners, and his camp wants to drown us in a swamp of blood.”

Opinion

Maariv: Trump’s Gaza Bombshell No More Than Trial Balloon

CrossFireArabia
February 10, 2025

As the hours passed after the White House bombshell in which President Donald Trump announced American control over Gaza and in which he said “it will be ours,” and reiterated that all Gazans would have to be removed and transferred to a “better” place; since then, the stock exchange of names of countries that could receive the Palestinians has been growing and flourishing.

In addition to Jordan and Egypt, which Trump mentioned, the names of countries such as Albania, Puntland, and Somaliland stand out. Why not? If you asked the Gazans themselves, some of them would laugh in Trump’s face, or say: “Come on, if it’s a resettlement, why not in Sweden, England, or Canada?”

In Israel, despite the harsh sound of the word transfer, no one opposes the idea of getting Gaza out of our lives once and for all, especially after 7 October. The Israelis believe the Palestinians will have to pay a heavy price, and they want the Palestinians of the West Bank to disappear as well.

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But it seems that the big balloon Trump launched into the air is nothing more than a trial balloon; a big threat balloon in an attempt to end the resistance in Gaza without a fight. There is no real intention of a mass exodus of nearly two million people.

Trump has set a heavy price in the hope that Hamas will voluntarily leave Gaza, and it can be assumed that this is just a preliminary proposal, an introductory step, from the statements of the president’s advisers as well, and if the Arab countries do not like it, these countries are invited to present their solution to disarm Gaza.

For Israel, the intention to prevent Hamas from continuing to control Gaza is desirable, especially after Netanyahu failed in this mission, and Hamas remained in power at the end of 15 months of fighting. It seems that there are those who have to swallow the “absolute victory”.

It is to be wondered: What was actually reached in the meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu and what are its implications? In short, in the end, Trump imposed on Netanyahu not to renew the war, and to continue with the deal to release the kidnapped soldiers. On the sidelines, it is unreasonable for an American president to insist on an Israeli prime minister in order to release Israeli kidnapped soldiers.

Messianic Vision

Trump has categorically ruled out the establishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza based on the messianic vision of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, hinted at his desire to move quickly on the Saudi issue, and made it clear that he still prefers a diplomatic solution with Iran over the use of force.

On the surface, this may seem disappointing to Netanyahu, but don’t worry; Trump has worked to create a welcoming atmosphere for the prime minister, and provided him with a far-reaching virtual achievement in order to preserve his coalition, which is a placebo for a government afflicted with the delusions of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir.

By resettling the Gazans, Netanyahu can sell the idea to his partners on the extreme right. These are dreams in the air, and the coalition is what is meant. And with the help of the grand plan of American control over Gaza and the transfer of all the residents of the Strip from there, a plan that has little chance of being realized, to say the least, Netanyahu can buy more time.

A person who cares only about his position, and whose top priority is his political survival, can strengthen the coalition, and in the meantime, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir will quickly accept the spoiled goods; the first will remain in the government, the second will return to its bosom, and the three will cling to this lie and pass it on to the base until the next crisis.

On top of all this political filth, there is the issue of releasing the hostages; Yesterday, we saw the horrific and horrific scenes of the return of Ohad Ben-Ami, Eli Sharaby and Or Levy as walking skeletons, which emphasized the importance of returning everyone as soon as possible. These people, who were abandoned twice, must be returned: once on 7 October, and then in the rigging of the deal to free them.

The outrageous images of Hamas controlling Gaza once again confirm, unfortunately, Netanyahu’s complete failure in managing the war, and now we hope that Trump and White House officials will force him to continue releasing the prisoners, and then the IDF will ensure that the “monsters” of Hamas are finally eliminated, down to the last one.

This column was written by By Yossi Hadar for the Israeli daily, Maariv and translated from Arabic and appeared in Jo24.