Israel’s finance minister pledges to rebuild Jewish towns in Gaza

After first general election since October 7, 2023, Finance Minister Smotrich declares next government will re-establish Jewish presence in the Gaza Strip, while rejecting calls to withdraw from Lebanon and Syria.

By World Israel News Staff

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowed to re-establish a Jewish presence in the Gaza Strip and to continue expanding Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, while rejecting Israeli territorial withdrawals from Lebanon and Syria, as his Religious Zionism party performed better than expected in Tuesday’s Knesset election.

Speaking to supporters at his party’s election headquarters in Jerusalem early Wednesday morning, Smotrich dismissed celebrations among the opposition and Arab parties following the release of exit polls showing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc had failed to secure a parliamentary majority.

“I see that the Arabs are celebrating tonight,” Smotrich told supporters. “I announce to them and to you: We will not let them celebrate.”

Smotrich said his political opponents believed that a change of government would reverse the settlement policies pursued during Netanyahu’s latest term.

“They think they will succeed in reversing our settlement revolution in Judea and Samaria,” he said. “They will not succeed.”

The finance minister also reiterated his commitment to restoring Jewish settlements in Gaza, declaring that Jewish communities would be established in the territory despite opposition from other political factions.

Smotrich rejected the possibility of Israeli forces withdrawing from positions they currently hold in southern Lebanon and the Syrian side of Mount Hermon.

“We will not withdraw,” he declared, according to Ynet.

He also pledged to continue military operations against Hezbollah until the terrorist organization was completely dismantled and called for the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority.

Smotrich’s remarks came as initial exit polls projected that the joint Religious Zionism-Zehut list would win between six and seven seats in the 120-member Knesset, despite months of polling that had repeatedly placed the party near or below the 3.25% electoral threshold.

The party’s improved performance followed Smotrich’s decision to join forces with Moshe Feiglin, the former Likud lawmaker and leader of the Zehut party, in September.

Feiglin was placed second on the joint list, an arrangement intended to consolidate support among right-wing voters and prevent votes from being wasted on parties that failed to enter the Knesset.

Smotrich had previously run on a joint ticket with Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party, but the two parties contested Tuesday’s election separately.

Smotrich also criticized smaller right-wing parties that had run independently, blaming them for wasting votes and weakening the broader right-wing bloc.

Although he did not mention former IDF general Ofer Winter by name, his criticism appeared directed in part at Winter’s Amcha Yisrael party, which failed to cross the electoral threshold in the initial projections.

“The only reason there is uncertainty is that irresponsible people threw votes into the trash,” Smotrich said, according to Ynet.

He called on supporters of smaller right-wing parties to join the Religious Zionist Party rather than risk further losses of parliamentary representation.

Smotrich’s pledge to establish Jewish settlements in Gaza follows a series of similar statements during the election campaign. In September, he called for Israel to annex areas of Gaza currently under military control, as well as territory extending to the Litani River in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli government dismantled all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza during its unilateral disengagement from the territory in 2005. Smotrich and other right-wing politicians have repeatedly called for reversing that decision, although no government decision to reestablish civilian communities in Gaza has been announced.

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