Smotrich Blames Small Right-Wing Parties for Election Results, Vows to Settle Gaza
Translated & summarized from Makor Rishon by baba
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's Finance Minister and leader of the Religious Zionism party, blamed smaller right-wing parties for the bloc's failure to secure an election majority. He criticized Arab parties for their gains and vowed to establish Jewish settlements in Gaza, linking Arab voter turnout to terrorism support. Smotrich hopes his party's final seat count will increase from seven to eight after soldiers' votes are tallied.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich blamed small right-wing parties for election outcome.
- Smotrich vowed to establish Jewish communities in Gaza, stating "we will not let them celebrate in Gaza."
- He criticized Arab parties' gains and linked their voter turnout to terrorism support.
- Smotrich urged supporters of parties failing to pass the threshold to join Religious Zionism.
- He hopes his party's final seat count will rise from seven to eight mandates.
Bezalel Smotrich, Chairman of the Religious Zionism party and Minister of Finance, reacted to preliminary election results, attributing the failure of the right-wing bloc to secure a majority to smaller right-wing parties that ran independently. He also sharply criticized Arab parties, which appeared to gain strength according to the exit polls.
Smotrich stated that his party had acted responsibly to forge alliances and that "people who acted irresponsibly and threw votes away" were responsible for the current uncertainty. He specifically targeted parties that did not pass the electoral threshold, such as Ofer Vinter's Am Israel party, urging their supporters to join Religious Zionism. "There is room for all of you in Religious Zionism. Enough with parties that do not pass the electoral threshold," Smotrich declared.
Addressing the increased Arab voter turnout and the strengthening of Arab parties, Smotrich issued a stern warning: "I see that the Arabs are celebrating tonight. I announce to you and to them, we will not let them celebrate in Gaza." He asserted that Arab parties and their supporters aim to halt the expansion of Jewish settlement in the West Bank and prevent the establishment of Jewish communities in Gaza, vowing that "Jewish communities will be established in Gaza as well."
Smotrich further linked the rise in Arab voter turnout to support for terrorism, claiming, "We stood as a solid wall, because we saw and understood what the people of Israel are seeing today. The rush of Arabs who support terror, support Hamas, support the massacre." He added that parties failing to condemn the October 7th massacre or define Hamas as a terrorist organization "will not be and have not been players in Israeli politics."
Regarding his own party's performance, Smotrich noted that preliminary polls showed Religious Zionism with seven seats, expressing hope that soldiers' votes would increase this to eight. He concluded by hoping for better final results for his party and the right-wing bloc.
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