Bezalel Smotrich

Israel creeps toward West Bank annexation as election season approaches - opinion

The de facto annexation of the West Bank is the natural byproduct of a political system where words are cheap and real power operates without transparency.

A Palestinian man walks past a fence decorated with Israeli flags installed by Jewish settlers in the northern West Bank. The de facto annexation of the West Bank is the natural byproduct of a political system where words are cheap and real power operates without transparency, the writer says.
A VIEW of Kibbutz Be’eri shows a destroyed home from a world left behind on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists, Palestinian civilians, UNWRA workers, and media members infiltrated Gaza border communities and massacred 1,200 people.

If the political elite keep performing for cameras, Israel will never be able to heal - editorial

Ra'am party head MK Mansour Abbas leads a faction meeting, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on January 12, 2026.

Hamas allegedly asked Mansour Abbas to ensure Netanyahu's re-election in 2021 - report

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett attends a Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem, February 17, 2026

Former PM Naftali Bennett won't boycott Ben-Gvir or Smotrich, leaked recordings reveal


Gov't approves new international airport in Israel's South, amid Ben-Gurion congestion concerns

Israel will build a new international airport in southern Israel at Ziklag, alongside a northern airport, as officials warn Ben Gurion is nearing capacity.

The government approved on Sunday the establishment of a new international airport in southern Israel, finalizing its location to be built in the Negev's Ziklag area.

Gov’t approves 2nd weekly move to reorder West Bank

Most of the world has slammed the West Bank changes, but the PM has faced little public pushback from Trump himself.

An Israeli flag flutters, with Ma'aleh Adumim is visible in the background, in the West Bank, August 14, 2025.

Haredi draft bill could trigger 'collapse' of Israel's Right in elections, aliyah minister warns

The aliyah minister asserted in December that he would vote against the proposed haredi draft law even at the risk of being dismissed from the government, calling the current outline "shameful.

Minister of Immigration and Absorption Ofir Sofer holds a press conference at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, December 1, 2025.

Knesset votes to split Arrangements Bill amid haredi parties' threats over state budget

The two parties threatened to vote against the coalition amid disagreements over the controversial haredi draft bill being advanced in the Knesset.

MK's Moshe Gafni and Yitzchak Goldknopf seen during a vote on the state budget at the assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, January 28, 2026.

Security Cabinet approves measures expanding Israeli control in West Bank

Newly approved measures will remove land-sale restrictions, expand enforcement in Areas A and B, and renew state-led land acquisition in the West Bank.

View of the Judean desert, in the West Bank, February 6, 2026.

As Iran distracts Trump, Netanyahu leaves Smotrich, Katz to announce West Bank changes - analysis

The process of gradual annexation of the West Bank has been underway in small or medium steps since 2023 and has accelerated since Netanyahu fired Gallant in November 2024.

Israeli military vehicles move along a road next to a concrete barrier close to the village of Beit Awwa near Hebron in the West Bank

Israel’s milk crisis is man-made, quotas are to blame - opinion

Dairy farmers and consumers will be the ones who win from Smotrich's reforms; it is the small interest groups that wish to keep the status quo.

FARMERS AND their supporters protest outside the Knesset in Jerusalem against a milk reform promoted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, in Jerusalem on February 4, 2026.

Despite Israeli demands, Bank of Palestine refuses to shut down pay-for-slay accounts - exclusive

The bank had agreed to close 1,700 accounts in the West Bank and Gaza, but now claimed it was “unable to act.” The prevailing assessment is that senior PA officials instructed the bank not to comply.

Employees of the Palestinian Authority line up at the ATM outside the Bank of Palestine in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on December 8, 2023

Israel’s milk shortage shows how policy fights end up hurting the public - editorial

Milk rationing did not happen by accident. Protest tactics, rigid regulation, and stalled reform collided, leaving families paying the price for political and policy failure.

Israel faces milk store stock shortage as dairy farmers halt milk deliveries. Febuary 2, 2026

Farmers journey to Jerusalem to protest Smotrich's dairy reform after resuming milk supply

The protest comes after farmers resumed milk supply to dairies on Wednesday morning. They had halted the supply throughout Tuesday, leading to milk shortages.

 Farmers block Route 1 leading to Jerusalem during a protest against a milk reform promoted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, February 4, 2026.