Smotrich calls for Israel to reassert control over Gaza at settlement ceremony
“Gaza is ours, and its future will affect our own future more than anyone else’s" said the Israeli Finance Minister
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich spoke on Monday at the inauguration of the new “Yatziv” settlement in Gush Etzion, framing the event as a milestone in Israel’s long-term settlement efforts.
In his address, Smotrich said, “Processes that have taken decades are maturing at a rapid pace, eliminating the terrible and dangerous idea of dividing the land.” He thanked supporters of Jewish settlement, the IDF, the Civil Administration, the Minister of Defense, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He sharply criticized government policy, asking, “What else needs to happen for our leadership to understand that we cannot run away from the Land of Israel? That we cannot run away from terror? Was the most horrific massacre to befall the Jewish people since the Holocaust not enough? Were two years of war and the heavy price in blood that we have paid not enough?”
Smotrich also denounced the U.S.-proposed Gaza peace council, calling its members untrustworthy and dangerous. “Did we pay all these prices just to transfer Gaza from one enemy to another? So that the Turks and the Qataris, who sponsor Hamas even today, will be sitting on our border? And let’s not kid ourselves that the Egyptians are great lovers of Israel. Erdoğan is Sinwar. Qatar is Hamas. There is no difference.”
Addressing Prime Minister Netanyahu, Smotrich said, “I do not intend to wait another 20 years to return to Gaza. We wandered in the desert for 40 years, not in the Land of Israel.” He also directly criticized former U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, saying, “We need to explain to him that his plan is bad for the State of Israel and cancel it. Gaza is ours, and its future will affect our own future more than anyone else’s.”
Smotrich concluded on a forward-looking note: “With God’s help, we will meet very soon at a similar ceremony in the Gaza Strip. I very much hope that this will be led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that he will lead it, and that we will not have to endure political upheavals along the way.”