Finance Minister Smotrich Shares 'Peace Now' Report With a Smile Amid West Bank Settlement Expansion

Israeli Finance Minister and Minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich posted a photo of himself holding a recent "Peace Now" report criticizing the government's activities in the West Bank. Sharing the image on Tuesday morning, Smotrich wrote, "Peace Now report. A moment of satisfaction this morning," smiling as he displayed the document. The report, published last week by the left-wing groups Peace Now and Kerem Navot, sharply criticizes the government's accelerated settlement and annexation policies in Judea and Samaria between 2023 and 2025.

According to the report, during this period, 185 new outposts were established, including approximately 130 farms and hills, alongside plans for 40,064 new housing units in West Bank settlements. In 2025 alone, 27,941 housing units were advanced, more than double the previous annual record. The report also notes the legalization of 102 new settlements and outposts and the declaration of 25,959 dunams as state land, nearly half of all land declared since the Oslo Accords.

Additional data includes the construction of at least 223 kilometers of new roads, expansion of agricultural activity over 11,500 dunams, and the transfer of extensive civilian authority from the Civil Administration to Smotrich and the Settlement Administration within the Defense Ministry. The report highlights the renewal of settlement activity in northern Samaria following the lifting of restrictions on Israeli entry to areas evacuated during the disengagement plan, as well as infrastructure and heritage site projects.

Meanwhile, the report claims that 118 Palestinian communities and herding groups were expelled during the period, framing these actions as part of a systematic government policy to deepen Israeli control over the West Bank. Smotrich’s public display of the report appears to mock the left-wing criticism, signaling approval of the government’s settlement expansion efforts.