Smotrich Cites Heavy Security Presence in Galilee as Sign of Lost Israeli Sovereignty

Religious Zionism party leader and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich held an urgent faction meeting near Majd al-Krum in the Galilee on Thursday, under heavy police security. The meeting aimed to advance the party's settlement agenda from Judea and Samaria to the Negev and Galilee regions. Smotrich stated that the extensive police presence, comparable to operations in Gaza, demonstrated a loss of Israeli sovereignty and governance in the Galilee. He argued that this perceived weakness, where authorities fear establishing a simple grazing point due to potential Arab protests, echoes the hesitancy seen before the October 7th attacks, ultimately delaying and escalating future conflicts.

Smotrich vowed that his party would end this situation in the next Knesset term, taking responsibility for "Judaizing" the Negev and Galilee. He plans to replicate the settlement successes achieved in Judea and Samaria, citing strong demand with over 500 families already registered for initial settlement groups. The party's ambitious goal is to bring an additional million Jews to the Negev and Galilee, establish 40 new communities, dozens of agricultural farms, expand existing settlements, and create hundreds of thousands of housing solutions.

Minister for Settlement and National Missions Orit Strock echoed these concerns, calling the situation in the Galilee a "strategic danger." She attributed the current state to "post-Zionist, unequal, and illogical land planning and management methods" that require correction. Strock pledged that in the upcoming term, her ministry would assume authorities from the Israel Land Authority and the planning administration to enact strategic changes, including legislative and procedural reforms, mirroring their approach in Judea and Samaria.