Finance Minister Smotrich Attends Gaza Border Housing Project Amid Hostage Controversy

A cornerstone-laying ceremony is currently underway at Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha to mark the start of constructing 1,000 new homes in the Gaza border area. The event is attended by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and hundreds of Jewish community leaders gathered for the Jewish Agency's Board of Trustees meeting in Israel. The housing expansion project, aimed at strengthening settlements in the region known as the Rebirth Bloc, is led by the Jewish Agency in cooperation with the Ministry of the Negev, Galilee and National Resilience, the Ministry of Finance, the Rebirth Administration, and the Ministry of Construction and Housing. It is funded by donations from the Jewish diaspora, including Keren Hayesod, the Jewish Federations of North America, and the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation from Cleveland.

Outside the event, dozens of protesters demonstrated against Smotrich's presence, holding signs in opposition. The criticism follows Smotrich's recent remarks in an interview with Nadav Perry, where he claimed that "all the hostages are here because of him," asserting that if he had not insisted to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel would have been negotiating with Hamas for the hostages' return. These comments sparked outrage among families of hostages and former captives.

Danny Miran, father of former captive Omri Miran, sharply criticized Smotrich on 103fm radio, stating that the minister is taking undue credit and that if Israel truly depended on him, the hostages would not be held. Miran acknowledged that Smotrich and his party initially supported the first hostage exchange deal but later obstructed efforts to secure the release of other captives. He also recalled a parliamentary proposal to provide uniform compensation to returning hostages, similar to that given to families of victims in the Meron disaster, which was rejected by 50 coalition members, including Likud, religious, and Bedouin MKs, while 40 opposition members supported it.