Latest news with #Smotrich
L'Orient-Le Jour
7 hours ago
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Smotrich unveils plan to sell land near Lebanon border to ‘reinforce' northern Israel
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right member of the government, on Wednesday announced a new plan to sell building plots in northern Israel, near the Lebanese border. The initiative, developed in coordination with Minister of Settlements and National Missions Orit Strock — a prominent figure in the settler movement and a member of Smotrich's Religious Zionism party — was unveiled during a conference titled 'Strengthening the North,' Israeli Channel 12 reported. Smotrich also praised the terms of the cease-fire agreement with Lebanon that came into effect on Nov. 27, 2024, and insisted that Israel 'will not withdraw from the [five] positions it occupies on Lebanese territory.' He said the government would offer 'serviced land, ready to build on, in the north of the country' for just 100,000 shekels (around $27,000), adding that military reservists would be eligible to buy the plots for only 50,000 shekels (around $14,800). He described the deal as 'an offer you can't refuse.' 'The state (of Israel) needs you,' he said, as northern Israel continues to recover from the nearly 13-month war with Hezbollah that began on Oct. 8, 2023, and ended with a fragile truce on Nov. 27, 2024. The terms of that cease-fire remain under negotiation and have been consistently violated by Israel. Despite Hezbollah's military losses and the ongoing cease-fire, many residents of northern Israel have yet to return to their homes. 'They talk to us about returning, but there's nowhere to return to,' said David Azoulay, head of the Metula municipal council — Israel's northernmost town — in early March. Some 2,900 buildings were damaged in Israel during the fighting, according to a February estimate by former Housing Minister Ze'ev Elkin. 'Even Khamenei has lost hope in Hezbollah' Smotrich said there is now 'a real possibility that Hezbollah could be totally disarmed,' and claimed that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had 'lost hope' in the party and is now 'completely indifferent as to whether it is rebuilt or not.' While U.S. envoy Tom Barrack has raised the prospect of a new agreement between Lebanon and Israel during recent visits to Beirut, Smotrich defended the current deal, calling it 'a good agreement.' He argued that it gives Israel 'full legitimacy to effectively prevent Hezbollah from reorganizing at the border.' Despite the cease-fire, Israel has continued near-daily strikes on southern Lebanon, increased incursions along the border, and killed at least 285 people — both militants and civilians — since the truce began, according to a tally by the United Nations and L'Orient-Le Jour. Israel also continues to occupy five positions on Lebanese territory, located on elevated ground near the border. Smotrich reaffirmed that the country 'will not withdraw' from those areas, despite cease-fire terms calling for a full Israeli pullout from Lebanese land.
Nahar Net
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Smotrich: We won't withdraw from Lebanon and destroyed villages won't be rebuilt
by Naharnet Newsdesk 30 July 2025, 18:35 Extremist Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said Wednesday that the Israeli army will not withdraw from the five points that it occupied in south Lebanon. 'The villages destroyed by the Israeli army in south Lebanon will not be rebuilt,' Smotrich added, in remarks at the settlement of Kiryat Shmona near Lebanon's border. 'The North's residents will no longer see Hezbollah on the border fence,' Smotrich said. 'There is a big possibility that Hezbollah's arms have truly been destroyed and (Iranian supreme leader Ali) Khamenei has abandoned it,' the Israeli minister added.
Saba Yemen
a day ago
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Hamas: Statements by Fascist Zionist Minister Smotrich Explicit Threat to Continue Genocide
Doha – Saba: The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) considered the statements by fascist Zionist Minister Smotrich, in which he publicly called for the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip and the resumption of the settlement project there, an explicit threat to continue the crimes of genocide and forced displacement against the Palestinian people. In a press statement received by the Yemeni News Agency (Saba), Hamas said that the statements of the fascist Zionist minister clearly reveal the brazen colonial nature of the Zionist enemy government and its complete disregard for international law and United Nations resolutions. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
Gulf Insider
a day ago
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
Netanyahu Now Plans To Annex Gaza
Having rendered much of Gaza uninhabitable and displacing a huge proportion of its population, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to propose a plan by which Israel will begin claiming parts of Gaza to be Israeli territory, with an eye on eventually seizing all of it. The scheme — which is said to have President Trump's backing though also certain to trigger international condemnation — is aimed at preventing his extremist ruling coalition from splintering, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz , which first reported on it. Under the scheme, Israel will give Gaza political and militant group Hamas a short deadline for accepting a ceasefire. After Hamas refuses to accept Netanyahu's terms (which will likely be written to guarantee refusal) Israel will start annexing portions of Gaza, starting with the buffer zone it has created along the perimeter of the territory, before proceeding to claim more land in the north. Eventually, all of Gaza will be claimed as Israeli land, fulfilling the wishes of extremist ministers who are vital to Netanyahu's ruling coalition. One of those powerful coalition members is Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionism party, which seeks to move the Israeli state closer to a theocracy. Smotrich is himself a West Bank settler who has long agitated for the annexing of that territory. In May, Smotrich told a settler conference that 'Gaza will be totally destroyed,' with all 2.3 million residents 'concentrated' in the extreme south, where they will be 'totally despairing' with 'no hope' and 'looking for relocation to begin a new life in other places.' Smotrich opposed Netanyahu's decision — in the face of rising malnutrition and starvation in Gaza accompanied by growing global condemnation — to even slightly increase the flow of food and medicine into the besieged strip. So did another minister of note: Itamar Ben Gvir, who leads the National Security Ministry, called Netanyahu's move 'a capitulation to Hamas's deceitful campaign,' and reiterated his demand that nothing at all be allowed to flow into Gaza, and for the IDF to conquer the territory and encourage the Palestinians to move to other countries. To get a sense of his extremism, consider that Ben Gvir infamously adorned his home with a photo of Baruch Goldstein, who mass-murdered 28 Muslims in the 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs massacre. A before-and-after comparison of the vicinity of Gaza's Al-Amal Hospital (red marker on each photo) reveals the IDF's systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure (via The Mirror) Compounding the anger of Ben Gvir and Smotrich, Netanyahu made the decision to facilitate a small increase in aid flow (largely cosmetic) on Saturday — at a time when the two were supposedly unavailable for consultation because they both observe Shabbat. Ben Gvir called that an excuse for acting without him, saying, 'I am available all Shabbat, 24/7, because I am the national security minister and receive updates all the time.' Netanyahu's annexation scheme is designed to ease that latest political firestorm on his right, with particular focus on Smotrich, who reportedly told Netanyahu he will 'remain in the government for the time being,' and will 'judge by actions' as to whether the promised annexation of Gaza proceeds. "The Israelis don't want us to film out of the [airplane] window at the devastation inside Gaza. But I've spent 10 minutes looking at it with my own eyes and I can tell you communities in the north of Gaza, that I knew well, are flat. There's nothing left of them." — Jeremy Bowen — paulusthewoodgnome 🇺🇦 🦋 💂🏻♂️ (@woodgnomology) July 28, 2025 According to Haaretz , Netanyahu assured his ministers that the annexation plan has been presented to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and that the Trump administration supports it. Annexation could encourage more Western governments to recognize Palestine as a state. On Thursday, French President Macron announced that he intends to recognize Palestine at the September United Nations General Assembly, and Monday brought reports that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has swiftly moved closer to making the same move, under pressure from his Labour Party and growing global consensus that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Also read: Netanyahu Recalls Team From Qatar As Gaza Ceasefire Talks Collapse Again
The Sun
a day ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Far-right minister says Israel should reoccupy Gaza
JERUSALEM: Israel should reoccupy Gaza rather than negotiate with Hamas, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Tuesday at an event marking the 20th anniversary of Israel's withdrawal of settlers from the Palestinian territory. 'Gaza is an integral part of Israel. How to move on to a tangible plan (for resettlement)? We need to need think about it, and above all we must succeed,' said Smotrich, who lives in a settlement in the occupied West Bank. Smotrich, who had threatened to leave the government if it allowed aid into Gaza, was on the back foot a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorised new humanitarian deliveries. 'If I'm still in the government despite everything, it's probably because I have good reasons to believe positive things are about to happen,' the head of the Religious Zionism Party said. Smotrich evoked the 2005 withdrawal in which Israel evacuated 8,000 settlers and its soldiers from the Gaza Strip. 'Who could have thought 20 years ago that Gaza would be like it is now?' he asked the audience, before suggesting that conditions in the territory now favoured a return of Israeli settlers. During a meeting at the Israeli parliament last week, elected officials and ministers were presented with a plan for the construction of new settlements. 'This is doable and realistic. I'm very optimistic. Conquering Gaza and settling it as an integral part of the State of Israel', Smotrich said at the time. Fellow far-right minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf echoed his comment. 'This is the price that the terrorists must pay, and God willing, as soon as possible,' he said. Several Israeli far-right groups will march Wednesday under the slogan '20 years later, we're coming back to the Gaza Strip'. Gaza's Hamas government reacted angrily to Smotrich's remarks, calling them 'an explicit threat to continue the crimes of genocide and forced displacement against our people'. - AFP
