Netanyahu Backs Smotrich Plan to Expand Farm Model to Negev, Galilee

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly endorsed a plan by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to replicate the model of agricultural outposts and infrastructure development from Judea and Samaria to the Negev and Galilee regions. Netanyahu stated in an interview with Channel 14 that the government is working to establish these farms in the Negev and Galilee to strengthen Israeli presence in these areas, drawing a parallel to similar efforts in Judea and Samaria.

"We are working to bring the farms into the Negev and the Galilee. That is, to strengthen the settlement exactly as we did in Judea and Samaria, also in the Negev and the Galilee. We are acting out of recognition of the importance of settlement also in the Negev and the Galilee," Netanyahu said, emphasizing the national importance of reinforcing control in these regions.

Finance Minister Smotrich welcomed the Prime Minister's support, calling it a backing for his plan to "transfer the revolution from Judea and Samaria to the Negev and Galilee." Smotrich highlighted the plan's security and national necessity, which includes establishing new settlements, legislative changes, and policy shifts. He argued that the current reality of a Jewish minority alongside over a million illegal weapons in Arab society poses a national security threat.

Smotrich further elaborated that the time has come to "transfer the settlement revolution from Judea and Samaria to the Negev and Galilee, through the establishment of farms, legislative change, and a significant revolution that will correct decades of neglect."