Smotrich: Israel will continue crackdown on illegal Palestinian construction

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Tuesday vowed to continue demolition operations against illegal Palestinian construction in Judea and Samaria.

“We will continue to enforce the law and prevent illegal Arab construction and land takeovers in Judea and Samaria,” said Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry with responsibility for civilian affairs in Judea and Samaria. “For too many years, they acted on the ground as if it belonged to them. That is over.”

Smotrich wrote on X that Judea and Samaria “are an inseparable part of the State of Israel and constitute its security belt.”

“We will not allow the left to return to power and take us back to the Oslo [Accords] era and the terrible waves of terrorism, when buses and restaurants were blown up across Israel,” he concluded, in a reference to the upcoming general election on Oct. 27.

The government led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spearheaded an unprecedented drive to expand Jerusalem’s control of Judea and Samaria, having approved tens of thousands of homes and dozens of new communities in the past three-and-a-half years.

In June, the Israeli Cabinet approved a 1.3 billion shekel ($424 million) plan to establish and develop dozens of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

According to the Cabinet decision, which was first published by Channel 12 News on July 14, the government will finance rapid initial construction consisting of prefabricated buildings, including up to 15 homes and two public buildings at each location.

The funding implements a March Cabinet decision approving dozens of new communities across Samaria, the Binyamin region, the Jordan Valley, Gush Etzion and the Dead Sea area.